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When the Chicago Bears hosted the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Bears head coach Matt Nagy wasn’t on the sideline. Instead, he was forced to watch the game on TV after remaining in COVID-19 protocol.

It was the first time in his four years as head coach that he’s missed a game. It was certainly a different experience, but Nagy would prefer to never to do that again.

“It’s something that I could have never guessed in a million years that I’d be doing,” Nagy said during a Zoom call with the media. “I wasn’t sure exactly how it would go as I watched it. But it was certainly different.

“I was on the edge of my seat the entire game. I just don’t know how to put it into words. I wanted to be there for the guys and be with them. But I knew that the guys had it. It was just different. It was something I don’t want to go through again.”

With Nagy sidelined, it was special teams coordinator Chris Tabor serving as acting head coach. And while the Bears didn’t get the win, it was hard to deny the offense looked better with Nagy not within earshot.

When Nagy met with the media on Monday, he was still conducting his press conference through Zoom, an indication he hasn’t cleared COVID protocol just yet.

The Bears face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, so we’ll see if Nagy will miss a second game or return to the sideline for Week 9.