Bears Clean House, Fire Coach Matt Nagy, GM Ryan Pace

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was fired by the team Monday morning, a day after the Bears finished the season with a 6-11 record, and three years after a promising start to Nagy’s tenure in Chicago. The team has also parted ways with general manager Ryan Pace, the Bears announced Monday morning.

Bears chairman George McCaskey is scheduled to speak at a news conference at 1 p.m. Bears players said Nagy told them in a meeting on Monday morning he would not return.

Players said they were sorry to see Nagy go after he invested himself in them during his tenure. Running back David Montgomery called the announcement emotional.

“It’s kind of pretty emotional for me just because I’m just a kid from Cincinnati who didn’t have many shots coming out of high school,” Montgomery said on a Zoom call with reporters Monday morning. “Then coming out in the draft, I’m being passed up by a lot of teams and I’m not thinking what’s going to happen and not knowing what’s going to happen next for me. And Pace and Nagy? They took a chance on me. They took a chance on a poor kid from Cincinnati who people looked at as if he wasn’t going to be good enough to even get a chance to play."

In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, Pace called Monday's decision "the tough part of the business."

"I am proud to have poured absolutely everything into making the Chicago Bears a better football team every single say since stepping foot into Halas Hall," Pace said. "From the expansion of Halas Hall, to every staff hire, every roster move, every scouting trip, every draft pick was with a championship vision in mind."

He added: "Bears fans, your passion is palpable daily. Through the wins and losses, it was our constant goal to deliver the championship you deserve. Thank you for making this city the best 'home field advantage' in the NFL."

In his statement, Nagy thanked the Bears ownership and front office, including Pace, but saved his most meaningful words for his now former players.

"I will forever be grateful for the fight and determination you showed each week. Every day I tried my very best to honor the commitment you showed to the game and the organization," Nagy said. "We’ve all built great relationships that will last a lifetime. I was proud to be your coach and wish you nothing but success in the future."

Nagy finished his four seasons with the Bears by compiling a 34-31 record, with the final loss coming in a 31-17 defeat by the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in Minneapolis. Nagy seemed resigned to the fact his time in Chicago was drawing to a close as he spent 16 minutes speaking with reporters following the loss.

"The day I signed up to be the head coach here in Chicago, on a year-to-year basis, you’re always understanding of what comes with your position,” Nagy told reporters in Minneapolis “That’s real. That’s life. The situation that we’re in this year is one where we know our record is not good enough.

"This is all stuff that comes attached to that. You’ve got to deal with it. You can’t run from it."

Nagy spent the final six weeks of the season dealing with rumors and reports surrounding his job status, but he vowed to never allow the notion that he would be fired at some point to keep him from doing his job. The team never made any official statements regarding any of the reports and remained silent on Nagy’s job status until Monday morning.

On Sunday, Nagy — while speaking with reporters — acknowledged he has always known this day could come in what was his first NFL head coaching job.

Nagy said Sunday he was aware that his record with the team would have a bearing on his employment status, which he did not address directly after the loss. He did, however, praise his team’s effort throughout a year filled with uncertainly dating back to November, when the rumors began and chants of “Fire Nagy” became frequent at an array of Chicago sporting events, including at a high school playoff game in the northwest suburbs in which Nagy's son was playing.

“I know how much (players) care,” Nagy told reporters. “And I know how much they want to be better. To me, that matters.”

He added: “Again, we understand our record. We know that’s real and that’s a part of this. But do the guys care? Did they fight? They did do that.”

Pace is most widely connected to the Bears moving up in the 2017 NFL Draft to No. 2 to select Mitchell Trubisky as quarterback over Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson. Pace had several opportunities to develop the quarterback position before the Bears traded to draft Justin Fields.

Pace also orchestrated the trade for Khalil Mack, who was brought in to headline the rebuilding of the Bears' defense. But in the end, Pace's inability to make enough moves and get the most of what he had to do under the constraints of the salary cap made him a casualty, along with Nagy.