Tag: John Defilippo

Bears QB coach John DeFilippo promoted to pass game coordinator

The Bears have filled their pass game coordinator role by promoting John DeFilippo, who will also continue to serve as quarterbacks coach.

The Chicago Bears have filled their final coaching vacancy with a promotion from within the organization.

Following the departure of Dave Ragone, who joined Arthur Smith’s staff as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator, the Bears have promoted quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to pass game coordinator.

DeFilippo will retain his duties as quarterbacks coach, as well.

DeFilippo joined Matt Nagy’s coaching staff last offseason after previously serving as the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator and Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach before coming to Chicago.

There’s a chance that DeFilippo could soon be working with quarterback Carson Wentz, who he coached from 2016-2017 with the Eagles. The Bears have shown interest in trading for Wentz, as it’s believed it’ll come down to Chicago and the Indianapolis Colts.

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WATCH: The final episode of ‘1920 Football Drive’ wraps Bears camp

The Bears protested the Jacob Blake shooting, named Mitchell Trubisky starting QB and TE Cole Kmet was mic’d up in ‘1920 Football Drive.’

For years, Chicago Bears fans have had to deal with limitations when it comes to media access at training camp. But in a year where we’re craving football more than ever, the Bears have brought training camp to the fans.

The series, 1920 Football Drive, has brought fans behind-the-scenes of  Bears training camp, which has included an inside look at team meetings and exclusive access from the practice field.

In the third and final episode, the Bears canceled practice to protest the Jacob Blake shooting, the Bears came to a decision at starting quarterback and rookie tight end Cole Kmet was mic’d up during the team’s final scrimmage.

You can catch past episodes of 1920 Football Drive on the Bears’ YouTube channel.

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WATCH: The second episode of Chicago Bears’ training camp series is here!

The second episode of “1920 Football Drive” takes fans inside the QBs room with John DeFilippo and QBs Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles.

For years, Chicago Bears fans have had to deal with limitations when it comes to media access at training camp. But in a year where we’re craving football more than ever, the Bears are going to bring training camp to the fans.

The series, 1920 Football Drive, will bring fans behind-the-scenes of  Bears training camp, which will include an inside look at team meetings and exclusive access from the practice field.

In the second episode, go inside the quarterbacks room with quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles. Also, safety Eddie Jackson and running back Tarik Cohen are mic’d up.

Stay tuned for more episodes of 1920 Football Drive, which will continue to take fans behind-the-scenes of Bears training camp, airing on the Bears’ YouTube channel.

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John DeFilippo details how Bears will evaluate QB competition

The Bears are going to have to get creative in training camp when evaluating the QB competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles.

The Chicago Bears had this quarterback competition all planned out. They were going to evaluate incumbent starter Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles through offseason workouts, training camp and preseason games before choosing their starter.

And then COVID-19 happened.

The effect was an entirely virtual offseason and the cancellation of the preseason to accommodate health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic in training camp. The small sample size is certainly not ideal for Matt Nagy to make the most important decision ahead of the regular season.

The Bears have stressed an open and fair competition this entire offseason, and that’ll be the case in training camp. Both Trubisky and Foles will receive the same number of reps with and against the same teammates.

“Whatever drill we’re doing—whether it’s a live drill or a drill on the side with me—we want it to be tremendously competitive,” quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo told the media on Thursday. “But in that competitive environment, you want to see which guy moves this offense better, and I think it just really comes down to something as simple as that.

“When you’re in the huddle, who’s functioning better? Which guy is raising the other 10 guys’ level of play? Hopefully one of those guys steps up in that role sooner rather than later. That would be great for our football team. But we’ll take it out as long as we need to to make the best choice for our football team. But I think it’s who moves our football team and converts on third down.”

Given that the Bears will have just training camp reps to go off of, the evaluation will extend well beyond just completions, touchdowns and interceptions. They’re going to look at the same things they’d be looking at during a live game, which is also why it hurts that there’s no preseason games this year.

“We’re going to take it to the next level a little bit in terms of accuracy, in terms of timing, decision-making,” DeFilippo said. “We’re going to not just grade whether the ball was completed or not. We’re going to try to dive into who’s the more accurate guy, who threw it on time, maybe who was the more mobile guy, who got us the first down with his feet; little things that you have to make sure of for both guys.”

Regardless of who wins the competition, don’t expect them to have a very long leash. Should the eventual starter begin struggling, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him benched.

Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that. Although with Chicago’s dismal quarterback history, it’s more reality than expectation.

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5 reasons why the Bears offense will be better in 2020

Don’t expect the Bears offense to be one of the best in the league this season, but they should be much better than they were in 2019.

The success of the Chicago Bears in 2020 depends on their offense. While the defense has carried this team for the better part of their storied 100-year history, the defense can only do so much, especially in a pass-happy league.

The Bears had one of the worst offenses in 2019, where they ranked among the bottom dwellers in the NFL that had top-five draft picks. Disappointing considering Chicago had a great defense, even amid some devastating injury blows.

While head coach Matt Nagy has cultivated this amazing culture in Chicago, ultimately he was brought in to bring the Bears’ offense out of hibernation. And that hasn’t exactly happened over these last two years.

Don’t expect this offense to be one of the best in the league this season, but they should be much better than they were in 2019. Let’s take a look at five reasons why the Bears offense will be better in 2020.

1. It can’t get much worse than 2019

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears offense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, and that’s just using the eye test. But were things really as bad as they seemed? Yes, the Bears offense was really that terrible in 2019. Here are some of the ugly statistics.

  • 17.5 points per game (29th in NFL)
  • 296.8 yards per game (29th)
  • 4.7 yards per play (31st)
  • 5.3 net per attempt (32nd)
  • 3.7 yards per rush (30th)
  • 35.6% 3rd-down conversion (25th)
  • 52.2% red-zone TDs (24th)

Luckily there’s nowhere to go but up for this offense, and the Bears have been making some offseason adjustments accordingly. According to running back Tarik Cohen, the Bears are looking to simplify things in 2020. Cohen said that it’s “going to be hard to tell who’s getting the ball and when or how they’re getting the ball” on offense this year, which wasn’t exactly the case last season.

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Bears rank 17th in team continuity heading into 2020

The Bears don’t have a ton of continuity on their team with losses in free agency, as well as the additions of new coaches.

Last offseason, the Chicago Bears were returning all but two starters on their team and gained defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. For the most part, their core remained in place.

Fast forward to the 2020 offseason, and the Bears have had to deal with several free-agent departures and some new faces that will occupy starting jobs this season, as well as some new additions to the offensive coaching staff.

Compared with last year, the Bears don’t have a ton of continuity on their team. According to ESPN, the Bears rank 17th in terms of team continuity compared to the rest of the league.

Change was inevitable after the most unfulfilling Bears season in recent memory. Chicago lost (or could lose) three starters on each side of the ball depending on what happens in the highly anticipated quarterback derby between Mitchell Trubisky (incumbent) and Nick Foles (challenger). The coaching staff also took a hit — primarily on offense — as Nagy brought in trusted confidants (Juan Castillo, John DeFilippo and Bill Lazor) with ties to Philadelphia. Until the quarterback situation is settled, it’s impossible to predict whether the changes will have any impact.

When looking at the defense, the Bears only lost three defensive starters in cornerback Prince Amukamara, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. Although you could argue that they’ve upgraded with at least one and perhaps all of those positions with the addition of outside linebacker Robert Quinn, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safety Tashaun Gipson.

Most of the changes this offseason have come on the offensive side of the ball, which makes sense considering Chicago had one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season. Matt Nagy started by overhauling the offensive staff with the additions of offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone.

Although, considering the changes on the offensive coaching staff came at areas that struggled immensely in 2019, you could argue that these are upgrades.

The Bears upgraded at several positions on offense, including tight end with the additions of veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris and rookie Cole Kmet. They also traded for quarterback Nick Foles, who will battle Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job. Still, regardless of who wins the starting job, the Bears have upgraded at backup quarterback.

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Chicago Bears’ 8 biggest offseason additions in 2020

Bears GM Ryan Pace has been busy this offseason adding players to this roster that he believes will help Chicago in 2020 and beyond.

The Chicago Bears are looking to rebound following a disappointing season in 2019. But they’ll have to do it without several players from last year, who departed in free agency or were released by the team.

General manager Ryan Pace has been busy this offseason adding players to this roster that he believes will help the Bears in 2020 and beyond. Whether it was free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft, Chicago is banking on these additions to help them get back to the postseason.

Here are the Bears’ eight biggest additions this offseason.

1. EDGE Robert Quinn

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately, pass rushers are judged by how they get after the quarterback. And the Bears couldn’t justify paying Leonard Floyd $13.2 million for his production. Chicago was able to lock up former All-Pro Robert Quinn, which serves to do wonders for their pass rush. With both Khalil Mack and Quinn coming off the edge, teams are going to have to pick their poison.

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No surprise: Touchdown Wire ranks Bears offense among worst in NFL

There’s no sugarcoating just how terrible the Bears’ offense was last season, and they’ll look to right the ship in 2020.

There’s no sugarcoating just how terrible the Chicago Bears’ offense was last season. Considering it was the offense’s second year in Matt Nagy’s system, there was supposed to be a better understanding, which should’ve translated to better results on the field.

Instead what followed was a complete regression due to the failures of several factors, including quarterback, tight ends, offensive line, lack of a run game and play-calling.

Here’s where the Bears ranked among three significant offensive categories last season — and it’s as ugly as you’d assume.

  • Points Per Game: 17.5 (29th in NFL)
  • Yards Per Game: 296.8 (29th in NFL)
  • Yards Per Play: 4.7 (30th in NFL)

In what should come as no surprise, Touchdown Wire ranked the Bears’ offense among the worst in the NFL, clocking in at No. 29. They were behind only the Washington Redskins, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals.

This is a quarterback-driven league. And right now, the Chicago Bears have a quarterback dilemma. Rather than take a leap forward in his second season under head coach Matt Nagy, Mitchell Trubisky took a step or two backward, and the Bears’ offense followed. While the organization maintains they have confidence in the rising fourth-year passer, all of their actions indicate they are hedging their bets. The Bears traded for Nick Foles, and declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option. There are pieces in place, especially the talented Allen Robinson at wide receiver, but until the quarterback position is sorted out, questions will remain.

The Bears have spent this offseason addressing the weaknesses of the offense, including bringing in former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Nick Foles to compete with Mitchell Trubisky. Chicago upgraded at the tight end position with the free-agent addition of Jimmy Graham and second-round pick Cole Kmet. They brought in veteran Germain Ifedi, who figures to assume the starting right guard following Kyle Long’s retirement.

Nagy also brought in four new offensive coaches, each specializing in an area of the offense that struggled in 2019. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barrone will work with Nagy to fix these position groups and right the ship on offense.

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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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What’s the key to fixing Bears offense? It’s all in the details for Matt Nagy

The Bears will be looking to redeem themselves following an abysmal outing on offense last season, and Matt Nagy brought in reinforcements.

The Chicago Bears’ offense will look a little different in 2020. Not only have the Bears brought in Nick Foles to compete with Mitchell Trubisky, but they’ve added some new offensive minds in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone to help Matt Nagy get this offense back on track.

But before Chicago brought in Foles, the focus this offseason was scheme evaluation. The Bears had one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2019 — and there were a number of issues other than just quarterback play.

While the Bears were far from a great offense in 2018, they were good enough with this Chicago defense. So what happened with the offense’s massive regression in 2019? For Nagy, it’s all in the details. Something that has been the focus for this Bears offensive coaching staff this offseason.

During these scheme evaluation meetings, Nagy got some fresh perspective from these new offensive coaches about what went right and what went wrong. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Nagy was frustrated in the flaws of the 2019 scheme, which these coaches pointed out. More than anything, he was frustrated with himself.

“I’d get pissed off and say, ‘No, put on 2018 and show them how that same play worked,’” Nagy said. “Then those coaches see that same play and say, ‘Well, 2018, that play looked pretty good.’ So that’s been our challenge: Why? Why from 2018 to 2019 did that happen? There’s a lot of things that go into that. And I will always start with myself in all of this, you have to be able to do that.

“For me, right now, forget the X’s and O’s, forget the play call and all that, I look at the word details. I think the greatest teams in all of sports are extremely detailed, and it comes naturally to them, because they do it over and over. It’s a repeated habit.”

During Breer’s discussion with Nagy, the one word that continued to come up was “details,” which is something that’s been a focus this offseason. It’s something that Nagy’s new coaching staff will help enforce.

But Nagy has the added advantage of knowing most of these players heading into Year 3 of this offense. He knows what they do well and what they don’t. Certainly having some new offensive minds — guys that haven’t been here from the start — has allowed for a fresh perspective when it comes to evaluating what concepts to keep and what to get rid of. It’s been a collaborative process for Nagy and his new coaching staff, one that he thinks will be beneficial.

“For the coaches that have been here, now going into our third year, we’ve now had the luxury of understanding our current players, what they do well, and what they don’t do well,” Nagy said. “So as a staff, we’ve seen concepts that we like, that we think are worth keeping. And concepts that, you know what, whether they were good or not in Kansas City, they’re not very good here in Chicago. So we’re gonna bag it, let’s get rid of it.

“That’s where we’re at right now, and we’re real excited about some of the newer ideas and thoughts we have, that these other coaches have brought.”

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