There’s rarely a head coach whose hot seat is so publicly hot, but Chicago Bears HC Matt Nagy is feeling the heat even in the bleachers of a high school stadium.
On the weekend of Nov. 20, attendees of the Lake Forest High School (Ill.) game against Cary-Grove High School (Ill.) started a “Fire Nagy” chant. The NFL coach has two sons who are listed on the Lake Forest roster.
The sound of the chanting could be heard on the NFHS Network livestream of the event. It prompted Cary-Grove, which was hosting the game, to issue an apology for the chant.
Pulled this from NFHS. Was late in 4th quarter. pic.twitter.com/RRQHDV4gOf
— Matt Allen (@MattyJamesAllen) November 22, 2021
The principal chose the words carefully in the statement, referring to Nagy not by name or as a public figure but instead saying the chant was “targeting the parent of one of the Lake Forest team members and his family.”
It also said the students who lead the chants were talked to and given a chance to reflect.
Below is a statement regarding the recent Cary-Grove vs. Lake Forest 6A high school football game: pic.twitter.com/cUjUfJduDk
— Cary-Grove H.S. (@CaryGroveHS) November 23, 2021
Bears fans have been making their chants heard throughout sports, including at Bulls and Blackhawks games. Nagy has, to his credit, tended to take the chants in stride in the eye of the public, saying to media, “I just understand in the end that we all care a lot.” Directed as trash talk to his kids, though, takes it to a different level.
