The Chicago Bears were a horrid football team in 2021. They were so bad that they finished the season with a record of 6-11. They almost had a somewhat respectable (not really) record of 7-10 but they blew a lead to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. It was an ending that should seal Matt Nagy’s fate.

There was a report that the Bears would fire Matt Nagy after their Thanksgiving game this year but that never happened. You have to think that the Bears wanted that rumor to become false so they backtracked on their plan. Either way, the streak of never firing a head coach midseason lives on.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Matt Nagy promised the Bears would “have a little fun out there” against the Vikings in what would surely be his final game as head coach.

As long as you define fun by dink-and-dunk passes, a familiarly unsatisfying amount of scoring and a touch of disorganization, it was a blast. All the monotony that was the hallmark of the Nagy era led to a tedious, trivial 31-17 loss to the Vikings on Sunday to close the season and his tenure with the team.

Last time Nagy had “so much fun,” it was moments before the Packers went on a 24-0 run to blowout the Bears last month.

With his exit looming anytime in the next two days, Nagy walked out of U.S. Bank Stadium with a 34-31 record as Bears coach, including 22-27 over the last three seasons.

Nagy wanted to go out his way Sunday and certainly did. After Andy Dalton — his preferred quarterback — threw short of the sticks on third-and-seven early in the second quarter, Nagy opted go for a fourth-and-one at the Vikings’ 13-yard line.

But he wasn’t quite prepared and needed a timeout as the play clock dwindled to seven seconds without a play being called. And even after that time to think, Nagy ignored that running back David Montgomery was averaging nearly five yards per carry at the time — he wasn’t even on the field — and called a pass that ended with Dalton being sacked for a loss of five.

Some things never change. That’s why the Bears have needed to move on from Nagy for a long time.

Speaking of which, don’t forget about general manager Ryan Pace. His mistakes have been laid out for all to see this season and bubbled up like a rash Sunday.

Defensive back Marqui Christian, a glaring example of Pace’s poor planning, tripped and fell while trying to hold on to Vikings receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the third quarter and let him run free for a 44-yard touchdown pass.

Smith-Marsette is a fifth-round rookie who had two career catches going into the game. Christian was out of the NFL for most of last season, but the Bears were so depleted at cornerback that he started the season opener for them.

The Bears also gave up a 21-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn in the fourth quarter as he raced wide open to the left corner of the end zone and Justin Jefferson was completely uncovered in the right corner. Meanwhile, cornerbacks Artie Burns and Jaylon Johnson, linebacker Alec Ogletree and a fourth defender stood in a cluster staring and gesturing toward each other about who should’ve been where.

It was a moot point minutes later when Dalton sunk the Bears with a pick-six. He finished the season with eight touchdown passes and nine interceptions in a performance that almost made you miss Mitch Trubisky.

The Bears’ season-opening loss to the Rams unraveled all the delusional assertions Pace and Nagy made in the offseason, and the problems persisted with minimal interruption the rest of the season.

There was no vertical passing attack. There still isn’t.

The secondary had major holes. It still does.

Nagy didn’t seem to know how to maximize rookie quarterback Justin Fields. He still doesn’t.

Things only got marginally better after Nagy bottomed out with an indefensible game plan against the Browns, getting Fields and the team crushed, and handed play calling over to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Even then, the Bears went all the way to mid-December before breaking the 30-point barrier and sat 4-10 before picking up wins over the hapless Seahawks, Giants and Vikings at the end.

This can’t continue. And the only way for the Bears to change the course of their franchise is to change out the people running it. Nagy’s dismissal is imminent, and Pace must go with him.

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NEW YORK — Nineteen people, including 9 children, have been killed in an apartment fire in New York City, in what the city’s fire commissioner called one of the worst blazes in recent memory.

Stefan Ringel, a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, confirmed the death toll Sunday to The Associated Press, while a city official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the number of children dead.

More than five dozen people were injured and 13 people were still in critical condition in the hospital, Ringel said. The majority of victims were suffering from severe smoke inhalation, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a press conference earlier that afternoon.

According to the FDNY, approximately 200 firefighters responded to the scene at the Bronx’s Twin Park apartments, a 19-story building on East 181st Street.

Firefighters “found victims on every floor and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest,” Nigro said. “That is unprecedented in our city. We expect there to be numerous fatalities.”

Nigro compared the severity of the fire to the Happy Land social club fire, which killed 87 people in 1990 when man set fire to the building after getting into an argument with his former girlfriend and being thrown out of the club.

According to Nigro, Sunday’s fire originated in a duplex apartment spanning the second and third floors. Firefighters found the door to the apartment open, he said, which apparently allowed the fire to accelerate and spread smoke upward quickly.

The fire is not believed to be suspicious in origin but the cause is under investigation.

Sunday’s fire comes just days after a house fire in Philadelphia left 12 people — including eight children — dead.

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Vikings are getting a look at their future at wide receiver in a no-stakes game against the Chicago Bears.

On the Vikings’ opening drive of the second half, quarterback Kirk Cousins found rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette down field and launched a deep ball on third-and-13 that went 44 yards for a touchdown to cut Chicago’s lead to 14-10.

Smith-Marsette lined up in the slot at the Chicago 44-yard line. As he crossed over the middle of the field, a Bears defensive back fell down, leaving the rookie receiver singled up when he caught the ball near the end zone.

The former fifth-round pick has two catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in the Week 18 finale. This was his second career touchdown. His first came three weeks ago when the Vikings beat the Bears on Monday Night Football.

Justin Jefferson entered Sunday needing 124 yards to set a new Vikings’ single season receiving yards record (1,632) that was previously held by Randy Moss. It didn’t look promising for the second year wide receiver, who had 36 yards on three catches through the third quarter.

Then, on third-and-short at midfield with 13:44 to play in the game, Jefferson ran a go route down the Bears sideline and turned what Chicago safety Eddie Jackson thought was a dead play into a 45-yard touchdown reception.

Jackson tracked Jefferson in coverage and stopped shy of the goal line, where Jefferson caught a deep ball from Cousins to tie up the game 17-17 after the point-after attempt. Jefferson is now 43 yards away from breaking Moss’ record.

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It was a week where a lot of teams played themselves out of the rankings but absolutely no one played their way in. That always makes things tough. A lot of teams hold on despite losing this week.

Bolingbrook drops out for the first time this season. The Raiders lost to Andrew and St. Ignatius. They have a challenging week ahead and could get back into the Super 25 next Sunday if they pull off a nice win.

Evanston also drops out. The Wildkits lost to Maine South. I think Mike Ellis’ squad has a chance to be pretty good this season, but like many teams in the area they are a work in progress right now.

Bloom is back. The Blazing Trojans were upset by Joliet West at Pontiac (playing a good team in back to back games is tough, just ask Glenbrook South) but they have a very solid resume.

DePaul Prep also returns to the rankings. I dithered around about what to do with this spot for awhile. Barrington and Huntley were both considered but their overall strength of schedule just isn’t strong enough at this point. I’m also keeping a close eye on Lake Park, Andrew and Glenbrook North

It’s striking how many good teams are currently not in the rankings. Thornton, Clark, Marian Catholic, St. Ignatius, St. Rita, and North Lawndale have all shown the potential to beat the very best teams in the area, but are sitting outside the Super 25 for various reasons.

Super 25 for Jan. 9, 2022

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Glenbard West (16-0) 1

Handled Benet

2. Kenwood (12-3) 2

Darrin Ames is back

3. Simeon (11-1) 3

At Kenwood Tuesday

4. Glenbrook South (14-1) 4

At Evanston Friday

5. Curie (15-1) 5

Hosts Kenwood Thursday

6. Young (8-4) 6

Dalen Davis has returned

7. Mount Carmel (16-0) 7

Hosts St. Ignatius Friday

8. Larkin (16-1) 8

Won at East Aurora

9. Hyde Park (11-3) 9

Beat Riverside-Brookfield

10. New Trier (15-2) 11

Hosts Maine South Friday

11. Wheaton Warrenville South (16-1) 12

Beat Batavia, Lake Park

12. Hillcrest (13-2) 13

Handled Oak Lawn

13. Brother Rice (13-2) 14

Ahmad Henderson is clutch

14. Leo (9-2) 15

Deep and fast

15. Rolling Meadows (16-2) 16

At Evanston Saturday

16. Homewood-Flossmoor (10-3) 10

Lost at DePaul Prep

17. Proviso East (10-3) 17

Lost to Lake Forest Academy

18. Oswego East (17-1) 18

Challenging week ahead

19. Orr (7-1) 19

At Yorkville Christian Tuesday

20. Lyons (12-3) 20

Beat Oak Park

21. Lake Forest (10-4) 24

Handled Lake Zurich

22. Burlington Central (14-2) 22

Lofty goals

23. Riverside-Brookfield (10-2) 23

Lost to Hyde Park

24. Bloom (11-3) NR

Four consecutive wins

25. DePaul Prep (11-2) NR

Beat H-F, lost to De La Salle

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There’s a long, compelling list of candidates to coach the Bears. Here’s a look at who could be in the mix when they inevitably fire Matt Nagy.

Eric Bieniemy, Chiefs offensive coordinator
Widely considered to be an elite offensive mind, it’s stunning that Bieniemy hasn’t landed a head-coaching job yet. He is probably the most highly regarded coordinator in the NFL, and the new rule allowing assistants to interview for head jobs during the final two weeks of the regular season is nicknamed for him because the Chiefs’ postseason success has often made it difficult for him to interview.

It could be a tough sell for the Bears, though, to go back to the well of hiring a Chiefs offensive coordinator assuming he can recreate the brilliant scheme Andy Reid masterminded. Bieniemy, 52, was the Chiefs’ running backs coach for five seasons until being promoted to coordinator when Nagy left for the Bears in 2018.

Josh McDaniels, Patriots offensive coordinator
McDaniels, 45, has always been a mysterious case. He’s been excellent as an offensive coordinator, but shaky as head coach. He also seems to like his current job and the possibility of one day replacing Bill Belichick. He turned down a more enticing job than this in 2018 when the Colts hired him as head coach, but he backed out of it later that day. He went 8-8 as head coach of the Broncos in 2009, then was fired after a 3-9 start in ’10.

Since then, however, he has had an 11-year run — most of which has been successful — as offensive coordinator. This season, with Tom Brady gone and rookie Mac Jones starting, the Patriots were top-10 in scoring.

Brian Daboll, Bills offensive coordinator
There are many reasons why Daboll, 46, has shot toward the top of the list of hot coaching candidates. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant with the Patriots, which always helps, and was on five championship teams. He also spent a season as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2017. In Buffalo, he did exactly what Nagy failed to do with the Bears: He developed quarterback Josh Allen into an MVP candidate and helped the Bills become one of the best offenses in the NFL the last two seasons.

Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Leftwich could be the next great, young offensive guru — or he could be the guy fortunate enough to have Brady as his quarterback. This has happens often in the NFL and would be a question mark for McDaniels, too. Another example: Coaching Peyton Manning was a springboard for former Bears coordinator and Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, but he went 32-48 in five seasons coaching the Dolphins and Jets. Leftwich, 41, played nine seasons in the NFL and had two seasons experience as a quarterbacks coach before the Buccaneers hired him as offensive coordinator in 2019.

Greg Roman, Ravens offensive coordinator
Offense continues to be the theme and should be the Bears’ priority given how bad that side of the ball has been for so long. One factor in favor of Roman, 49, is that he’s already coaching a dual-threat quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Fields is much more of a pass-first quarterback, but there could be some carryover in scheme as the Bears look to maximize their investment in his future.

Nathaniel Hackett, Packers offensive coordinator
Would the Bears dare turn to the Packers for their next head coach? The 42-year-old has been the Packers’ offensive coordinator for the last three years and has held the same role in Buffalo and Jacksonville. His dad is former USC head coach Paul Hackett.

Doug Pederson, former Eagles head coach
Pederson has won a Super Bowl. That should get him a meeting with every team that has a vacancy. His offense, though, is similar to the one Nagy failed with over the past four years. The 53-year-old also one of Nagy’s best friends — it wouldn’t be a surprise if Nagy wound up as Pederson’s offensive coordinator if he lands a head coaching job elsewhere.

Vic Fangio, former Broncos head coach
Fangio, 63, delivered on his promise to bring dominant defense to the Rockies — through the first 16 games of the season, only two teams had allowed fewer points. He didn’t make the playoffs in any of his three seasons, though, and was fired Sunday. A former coordinator under John Fox and Matt Nagy, Fangio would undoubtedly orchestrate a solid defense.

Kellen Moore, Cowboys offensive coordinator
Only 33, the former Boise State star and NFL backup has called plays in Dallas for the last two years. The Cowboys’ 31.2 points per game led the NFL entering Sunday. They averaged a more pedestrian 24.7 in 2020, a season marred by Dak Prescott’s grisly season-ending ankle injury.

Leslie Frazier, Bills defensive coordinator/associate head coach
A member of the Bears from 1981-85, Frazier would satisfy those inside and outside Halas Hall that like to draw on the team’s history. The 62-year-old has experience as a head coach within the division — Frazier was the Vikings’ head coach from 2011-13 — and was been a respected defensive coach for almost two decades. He’s served as the defensive coordinator for the Bengals, Vikings, Bucs and, since 2017, the Bills.

Matt Eberflus, Colts defensive coordinator
Eberflus, 51, got his first NFL coordinator job in 2018 and inherited a Colts team that finished 30th in points and yards allowed the season before. He had them 10th in fewest points allowed the next season, then 18th, 10th and 12th.

Dan Quinn, Cowboys defensive coordinator
As the Falcons’ head coach, Quinn went to a Super Bowl — although his team blew the win against the Patriots after leading 28-3 late in the third quarter. The Falcons were never the same, bungling games until his firing in October 2020. Quinn, 51, went 43-42 as a head coach before taking the Cowboys’ coordinator job this year.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan head coach
The Bears’ former first-round pick just went to the national championship semifinal with the Wolverines. It’s fair to wonder whether Harbaugh wants to return to the NFL or if he’s using rumored interest as leverage to get an extension. Michigan made the 58-year-old take a paycut a year ago — and rival Michigan State gave coach Mel Tucker a 10-year, $95 extension in November.

Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale
The Ravens’ coordinator since 2018 interviewed with the Giants for the head coaching job that went to Joe Judge two years ago. The Ravens defense isn’t what it was in years past, but Martindale, 58, is still considered one of the best coordinators in the game.

Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
What better person to mentor Justin Fields than someone who’s already done it? Day has been Ohio State’s head coach since Urban Meyer left in 2018. It was the 42-year-old’s first head coaching job. He has a bit of NFL experience, too: he coached quarterbacks for one year in Philadelphia and San Francisco. As with Harbaugh, the question remains: does he already have a better job than the Bears could offer?

Sean Payton, Saints head coach
Why would the 58-year-old Payton, one of the three most accomplished sitting head coaches in the game, leave the only team he’s ever run to come back to Chicago? It’s a good question — and one with no good answer. But if the Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois grad is spooked by the Saints’ salary cap situation and lack of quarterback, the Bears could try to trade for him. That would require the Bears to give a future high draft pick and a giant contract, though.

Jerod Mayo, Patriots inside linebackers coach
A recent Sports Illustrated column floated Mayo, 35, as a possibility for the Bears after spending the last three seasons as a position coach under Belichick. Belichick essentially leans on him as defensive coordinator. Mayo had incredible success as a player with an all-pro selection and Super Bowl ring and would command respect from that standpoint. The Bears surely won’t be the only team interested; Mayo had a head-coaching interview a year ago with the Eagles.

Todd Bowles, Buccaneers defensive coordinator
A close friend of Nagy’s — Bowles played for Nagy’s father in high school — Bowles was offered the Bears defensive coordinator job that went to Chuck Pagano. Bowles, 58, chose Tampa Bay instead — and won a Super Bowl with them last year. His furious pass rush held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to nine points.

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DENVER — Vic Fangio was fired on Sunday morning as coach of the Denver Broncos after going 19-30 in three seasons.

Team president and CEO Joe Ellis, who will step down later this year, said general manager George Paton will have “full authority to select the next head coach.”

“This morning, George and I informed Vic of the decision to part ways with him as head coach,” Ellis said in a statement. “For the last three seasons, Vic put his heart and soul into coaching the Broncos. I want to thank Coach Fangio for giving his maximum effort to our organization since the day he was hired.”

Fangio released his own statement in which he thanked the organization and fans and praised Paton as one of the NFL’s top GMs: “Broncos fans, you have a great one in George.”

Fangio said he appreciated the team’s “fight and character you showed each and every week. No matter the adversity, circumstances or challenges we faced, you never backed down. I am proud to be associated with this group of fighters and competitors.”

And he reiterated that the franchise is on the cusp of returning to greatness.

“The foundation is in place for this team to accomplish great things,” he said. “The future is bright for the Denver Broncos, and I wish the organization nothing but the best.”

The Broncos lost their final four games to finish 7-10, capped by a 28-24 loss to Kansas City on Saturday in which they blew a fourth-quarter lead and extended their losing streak against the Chiefs to 13 games.

Fangio met with Paton ahead of the season finale and laid out his plan to fix the Broncos’ myriad problems that extended the team’s playoff drought to six seasons and string of losing records to five years.

Fangio led Denver to a 5-11 mark last season and went 7-9 in 2019 after he replaced Vance Joseph, who was fired after two losing seasons.

Fangio got the job after more than three decades as an assistant — including three seasons as Bears defensive coordinator — and he burnished his reputation as a defensive master during his time in Denver. But the Broncos didn’t win, and that cost him his job.

Fangio and Paton hit it off when Paton was hired last year to replace John Elway. They saw eye-to-eye on the draft and many felt their close relationship would help Fangio survive a third losing season.

“I have tremendous respect for Vic and all he’s accomplished in the NFL,” Paton said in a statement. “Over the past year, I appreciate his partnership, friendship and tireless work ethic he demonstrated as our head coach.

“Vic will continue to have great success in this league, and I thank him for everything he did for the Broncos as well as me personally.”

Fangio isn’t expected to be out of work long. He will be a candidate for a defensive coordinator job in the new round of coaching changes this month.

Fangio’s creative schemes helped the Broncos thwart some of the best young quarterbacks even when his defense was depleted by injuries or COVID-19. The long list of QBs who have had some of the toughest days of their careers against Fangio’s teams include Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes.

Last month, the Broncos held Joe Burrow to 157 yards passing. Burrow followed that tough afternoon with a two-game stretch against Baltimore and Kansas City in which he threw for a combined 971 yards and eight touchdowns.

Yet Fangio’s teams struggled mightily on offense and special teams and his game management skills, including use of timeouts, challenges and clock handling, came into question in all three of his seasons in Denver.

The Broncos averaged better than 10,000 no-shows over their final six home games, including nearly 15,000 Saturday, a sign the fanbase had grown frustrated with Fangio.

The Broncos were still in the mix of the AFC’s crowded playoff field in mid-December before losing their final four games.

Asked Saturday about his 5-13 record in the AFC West that includes an 0-6 mark against the Chiefs, Fangio said, “Well those other three teams have top-shelf quarterbacks, which is obvious to everybody.”

Equally obvious is how the Broncos have failed to find their own premier passer, swinging and missing on the likes of Paxton Lynch, Drew Lock, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco.

The Broncos have churned through 10 starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning’s retirement a month after Denver’s win in Super Bowl 50, 11 if you include running back Phillip Lindsay, who started against New Orleans in 2020 when all four of Denver’s quarterbacks were in COVID-19 protocols.

One of Paton’s first moves as GM was to acquire veteran Teddy Bridgewater, who went 7-7 as Denver’s starter before missing the final three games with a concussion.

Lock, the starter in 2020, lost all three of his starts despite not turning the ball over after committing an NFL-high 18 turnovers last season.

Paton is expected to focus his efforts this offseason on finding the Broncos’ sixth different starting QB in six seasons.

Thanks to his trade of Von Miller to the Rams, he has 11 draft picks, including five in the top 100, to either restock his roster or use as chips to acquire a veteran via a trade. He’ll also have nearly $70 million in cap space to sign free agents.

With so much repair work ahead, Paton added to his plate a search for a head coach, and now the team will have to start from scratch on both offense and defense.

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The Chicago Blackhawks, thanks to some bad play, COVID-19, and Christmas, were pushing a month without a single win. They finally earned that on Saturday night which was fantastic for the team as a whole and the fans. However, it was much more than that because of the circumstances.

The win came over the Vegas Golden Knights who are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. They have a legit chance to win the Stanley Cup. The loss to Chicago drops them to 23-14-1 for 47 standings points which are good for the second-best total in the Western Conference.

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Bears will close out the 2021 season without two players everyone wanted to see play.

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields will miss the finale against the Vikings after testing positive for the coronavirus Thursday, and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks is out with an ankle injury.

Hicks, 32, is in the final year of his contract and almost certainly will leave as a free agent this offseason. He wanted an extension with the Bears heading into the season, but those negotiations went nowhere.

“I’ll do everything in my power to [finish my career with the Bears],” he said in September. “That’s what I want. That’s what I feel at the end of the day is right for me. I started a piece of my career here and it grew and it blossomed, and I’ve just had so many joy-filled moments as a Chicago Bear. I can’t see myself in another jersey.”

He appeared to gradually accept the unlikelihood of returning as the season went on and spoke last month about how sad he was to think that his time with the Bears was ending.

With the Bears sitting 6-10, here are their inactives against the Vikings:

RB Ryan Nall
OT Elijah Wilkinson
OL Lachavious Simmons

DT Akiem Hicks
DB Duke Shelley

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