Bears’ Matt Nagy ruled a COVID-19 close contact, will coach remotely

Matt Nagy won’t coach the Bears’ rookie minicamp in person this weekend after being ruled a high-risk close contact for a family member who tested positive for the coronavirus, sources confirmed Thursday.

Nagy is not fully vaccinated but has already received his first shot.

He is expected to participate in the practice via virtual technology. He’ll run meetings remotely, too, as all classroom work this offseason is being conducted via Zoom.

NFL rules dictate that an unvaccinated person who’s deemed a high-risk close contact must quarantine for five days, beginning with their most recent exposure to the infected patient. They then need to produce a negative test on Day 6 to return to the team facility.

Vaccinated people don’t need to quarantine at all, a league spokesperson said.

The Bears will begin their rookie minicamp Friday, with quarterback Justin Fields and second-round offensive tackle Teven Jenkins among those set to make their debuts on the practice fields of Halas Hall. The team will hold practices on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with voluntary organized team activities set to begin later this offseason. Mandatory minicamp begins in mid-June.

Nagy appeared on NFL Network on Wednesday night as part of the league’s schedule-release programming.

NFL teams continue to test players, coaches and staff members as a condition of their admission into their facilities. Nagy has been a vocal proponent of masking. During the 2020 season, he said he often wore his mask alone in his office or even at home to make sure he stayed in the habit.