The Chicago Bears have been ravaged by COVID-19 this week, which has left a slew of players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as all three coordinators, putting their status for Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in jeopardy.
Bears head coach Matt Nagy said there was a plan in place assuming that offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, defensive coordinator Sean Desai and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor won’t be able to coach Monday night.
If that’s the case, quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator John DeFilippo will serve as the offensive coordinator, senior defensive assistant Mike Pettine will be the defensive coordinator and assistant special teams coach Brian Ginn will handle special teams.
John DeFilippo will be the offensive coordinator if Bill Lazor can’t coach Monday night, the Bears announced.
Mike Pettine would be the defensive coordinator in place of Sean Desai, and Brian Ginn would handle special teams for Chris Tabor.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 18, 2021
If DeFilippo is indeed assuming Lazor’s duties, that could indicate that DeFilippo might get a chance to call plays, which is something he did in the past with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2019) and Vikings (2018). But it also wouldn’t be a surprise if Nagy takes over play-calling duties.
Pettine spent the last three years as a defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. He’s also been the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets (2009-12) and Buffalo Bills (2013).
Ginn, in his fourth year with the Bears, previously served as offensive quality control coach in 2018-19 before being promoted to assistant special teams coordinator.
[listicle id=491824]