Tag: Bears coaching staff

4 things to know about new Bears ILB coach Bill McGovern

The Bears have found their new inside linebackers coach in Bill McGovern, who replaces Mark DeLeone. Let’s get to know McGovern.

The Chicago Bears have found their new inside linebackers coach in Bill McGovern, who is the latest new addition to join a Bears staff with several coaching vacancies.

McGovern replaces Mark DeLeone, who served as inside linebackers coach for the Bears for the previous two seasons under former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

With McGovern’s hiring, the Bears still have three spots fill: safeties coach, running back coach and passing game coordinator.

But let’s take a look at four things to know about Chicago’s new inside linebackers coach.

Report: Bears promoting Bill Shuey to outside linebackers coach

The Bears continue to fill out their defensive coaching vacancies with the promotion of Bill Shuey to outside linebackers coach.

The Chicago Bears have a number of coaching vacancies to fill, and they’ve begun filling them on the defensive side of the ball.

Following the departure of Ted Monachino to the Atlanta Falcons, the Bears have found his replacement at outside linebackers coach. According to the Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs, the Bears have promoted Bill Shuey to the position after he served as an assistant linebacker and pass rush analyst this past season.

Shuey joins the newest defensive coaching additions, including defensive coordinator Sean Desai, defensive line coach Chris Rumph and Bill McGovern as inside linebackers coach.

Shuey has worked with new defensive coordinator Sean Desai and previously served with the Philadelphia Eagles for 10 years, including three as a position coach.

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Report: Bears hiring Bill McGovern as inside linebackers coach

The Bears have found a new inside linebackers coach in Bill McGovern, who replaces the departed Mark DeLeone.

With several openings on the Chicago Bears’ coaching staff, Matt Nagy has started to fill those vacancies, starting on defense.

Not long after the Bears announced Chris Rumph would be succeeding Jay Rodgers as defensive line coach, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Bears have hired Bill McGovern as their new inside linebackers coach.

McGovern replaces the departed Mark DeLeone, who served as inside linebackers coach for two seasons under former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

Last year, McGovern was a defensive assistant at Nebraska. Before that, he worked for the New York Giants (2016-19) and Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15).

Most notable, McGovern coached former Carolina Panthers star linebacker Luke Kuechly during his time at Boston College. Now, McGovern gets a chance to work with Bears rising star Roquan Smith.

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The Bears lose another coach with departure of Mark DeLeone

The Bears have lost another assistant coach to a head-coaching hire as Mark DeLeone has joined Dan Campbell’s staff with the Lions.

The Chicago Bears have lost another assistant coach to a new head coaching hire.

Inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone is joining Dan Campbell’s staff with the Detroit Lions in the same role, which leaves the Bears without an inside linebackers coach.

DeLeone joins a list that includes departed coaches Jay Rodgers (defensive line), Ted Monachino (outside linebackers), Charles London (running backs) and Dave Ragone (passing game coordinator).

One of the benefits of promoting from within at defensive coordinator with Sean Desai was to avoid the very thing that is happening. Not that it’s Desai that has multiple defensive coaches moving on. That falls on the uncertain futures of general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy.

Translation: No one’s job is safe beyond 2021, and those that can find work elsewhere are taking that opportunity. It’s also not a good luck that Duce Staley, who the Bears were interested in, turned down an opportunity to coach Chicago’s running backs and joined Campbell’s staff in Detroit. Picking the Lions over the Bears? That says it all.

For those keeping score at home, the Bears now have six coaching vacancies to fill: Defensive line, inside linebackers, outside linebackers, safeties, running backs and passing game coordinator.

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The Bears are showing interest in Duce Staley to join coaching staff

The Bears need a replacement at running backs coach, and they’re showing interest in Duce Staley for the job.

The Chicago Bears have found their new defensive coordinator in Sean Desai, but they still have some other positions to fill, including Charles London’s replacement as running backs coach.

According to The Athletic’s Adam Jahns and NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Bears are showing interest in Duce Staley joining Matt Nagy’s coaching staff, where he would replace London as running backs coach.

Staley currently serves as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, but Garafolo and NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark have reported that he’s been asked to be released from his contract. That comes after Staley was passed over for a chance to interview for the head coaching job, and he’s now drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Bears and their NFC North rivals the Detroit Lions.

If the Bears were to land Staley, it would be a huge hire for Nagy. Staley has served on the Eagles’ coaching staff in different roles over the last 10 years, including two of those years with Nagy. He’s been the Eagles’ running backs coach since 2013 and has served as assistant head coach for the last three years.

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Report: OLB coach Ted Monachino not expected to return to Bears

The Bears have another coaching vacancy to fill as outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino isn’t expected to return to the team in 2021.

The Chicago Bears already have several openings on their coaching staff on both offense and defense. And not long after promoting Sean Desai to defensive coordinator, they’ll now be looking to fill another vacancy.

Outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino isn’t expected to return to the Bears, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

Monachino served as outside linebackers coach for the last two seasons under Chuck Pagano, where he worked with Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and Leonard Floyd among others.

That now leaves the Bears with three defensive coach vacancies to fill, as they need coaches for outside linebackers, safeties and defensive line, following Desai’s promotion and Jay Rodgers’ departure to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Chicago also has two spots to fill on offense as passing game coordinator Dave Ragone and running backs coach Charles London have left to join Arthur Smith’s staff in Atlanta.

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Here’s what people are saying about new Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai

Here’s what people around the league have to say about Sean Desai’s promotion to Bears defensive coordinator.

The Chicago Bears have found their new defensive coordinator in Sean Desai, who served as Chicago’s safeties coach for the last two seasons. He’s been with the Bears since 2013, where he served as a quality control assistant.

The Bears ultimately decided to promote from within rather than look elsewhere, which not only allows them to avoid an overhaul on the defensive staff but also gives a young, rising star and opportunity to lead a talented defense.

Desai has already been receiving a ton of praise. Here’s what people around the league, including former players, media and even Matt Nagy, have to say about Desai’s promotion to defensive coordinator.

Jay Rodgers, Sean Desai are the top in-house candidates for Bears defensive coordinator

With the Bears in market for a new defensive coordinator, there are two internal coaches that are favorites to land the gig.

The Chicago Bears are on the market for a new defensive coordinator following the retirement of Chuck Pagano, who served in the role for the previous two seasons.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapport, the top internal candidates for defensive coordinator are defensive line coach Jay Rodgers and safeties coach Sean Desai.

Rapoport also noted that Rodgers, whose contract with the Bears expires next week, is expected to receive defensive coordinator interest from around the league as head coach spots are filled.

Rodgers has served as the Bears defensive line coach for the last six seasons, and he’s a rollover from the John Fox era. It’s easy to see why given the defensive line has been one of Chicago’s best units during that span.

Desai is one of former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s guys. The Bears blocked Fangio from taking Desai to Denver, according to Brad Biggs. Desai is familiar with the scheme and this roster of players, and like Rodgers, he could be an up-and-coming defensive coordinator.

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Matt Nagy preaches more collaborative effort among offensive coaching staff

Matt Nagy will remain the Bears’ play-caller in 2020, but he’ll have experienced offensive minds to help keep the offense together.

When your offense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, obviously changes need to be made. Which is exactly what Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has done this offseason.

That started with the newest members of his offensive coaching staff, which include offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone, who bring a combined 40 years of experience with them.

And, no, it’s not a coincidence that those new coaches specialize in the areas where the Bears struggled most last season as an offense.

While Nagy runs the offense, first and foremost he’s the head coach, which means that his responsibilities run deeper than just offense. Nagy will remain the play-caller in 2020, but he’ll have experienced offensive minds to help keep the offense together.

“I need to be an excellent head coach,” Nagy said, via SI.com. “In order to do that, the more manpower you have on that side of the ball—that can help get it going and can keep it together, and keep it detailed and overcommunicate clarity and still have beautiful ideas—the more of that we have, if done the right way, it can just take off. So what we’ve done with those three guys, we’ve explained their roles—who’s responsible for this, who’s responsible for that.”

“They’re all in. They all get it.”

According to Albert Breer, it’s similar to how the Philadelphia Eagles run things, where the head coach is responsible for calling plays, the offensive coordinator runs unit and staff meetings and specific coaches are responsible for individual parts of the offense (red zone, run game, etc.). He hopes that, ultimately, it’ll benefit the quarterbacks room.

“The way they had things in Philadelphia, with Frank Reich, (Doug) Pederson and Flip in 2017, that’s a pretty good deal there,” Nagy said. “And I think the quarterbacks in those rooms feel that. Now, the quarterbacks know too the structure of these things. So when you do that, and when you all speak the same language, which is what we’re doing right now, with us and the quarterbacks, that’s what we think can really help us improve in that room.”

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5 takeaways from Bears’ new offensive coaching staff

There’s plenty to unpack here, given the direction of Matt Nagy’s new offensive coaching staff, including the value of experience.

The Chicago Bears officially announced the new additions to Matt Nagy’s coaching staff, which includes a continued overhaul on offense.

Nagy confirmed the hirings of Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator and John DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach, as well as the promotion of Dave Ragone to pass game coordinator. They joined previously-announced coaches Juan Castillo (offensive line) and Clancy Barone (tight ends).

There’s plenty to unpack here, given the direction of Nagy’s hirings. Here are my five takeaways from the new additions to the Bears’ offensive coaching staff:

1. Fixing the offense a major priority this offseason

AP Photo/Amr Alfiky

Ask anyone about what doomed the Bears in 2019, and the answer will be an overwhelming chorus focused on the offense. While the Bears offense didn’t need to be a top-10 offense to live up to expectations, they needed to show progress in Year 2 of Matt Nagy’s system. Instead, they ranked near the bottom of nearly every statistical category.

Naturally, someone had to take the fall. And it wasn’t going to be Nagy. So it’s easy to assume that the firings of offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride were an attempt to pawn off the blame for the offense’s struggles. But it feels like it’s more about accountability at this point.

The offense needs to be significantly better this season than it was in 2019. It’s as simple as that. If not, Nagy’s seat will grow even hotter.

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