Bears' Tashaun Gipson says HC Matt Nagy hasn't lost locker room

The 3-7 Chicago Bears generated plenty of headlines Tuesday without taking the field ahead of Thursday's game at the winless Detroit Lions, and that was before head coach Matt Nagy confirmed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will start on Thanksgiving afternoon as rookie Justin Fields recovers from a rib injury he suffered this past Sunday. 

A report surfaced earlier in the day claiming the Bears told Nagy Monday they're parting ways with him following Thursday's contest. Per Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago, safety Tashaun Gipson spoke with reporters and said Nagy hasn't yet lost the locker room even though the Bears have dropped five consecutive games after a promising 3-2 start to the season. 

"I think everybody in the locker room love playing for Nagy," Gipson explained during his comments. The 31-year-old added he and his teammates are doing all they can to tune out such chatter during the short week. 

"I don't see any distractions on that tip of guys talking about what they heard or what's going on," he said. "We're just itching to win a football game. And I think that's more so of the conversations that's being had. The energy is business as usual."

Nagy said stories of his imminent dismissal are "not accurate," and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor remarked he didn't "know anything about that report." Tabor served as temporary head coach earlier this season when Nagy was out with COVID-19 and, theoretically, would know if the Bears were seriously considering making such a drastic decision before December.