John Fox’s coaching staff – which we’ll remind you is coaching the upcoming Senior Bowl – is starting to round into form as the Chicago Bears officially announced the hiring of three new assistant coaches on Thursday.
It was already reported that the Bears were adding Jeremiah Washburn as the team’s new offensive line coach and Curtis Modkins as the new running backs coach. Roy Anderson officially joins Washburn and Modkins as the assistant defensive backs coach, replacing Sam Garnes.
Anderson has his work cut out for him as he tries to coach the secondary out of the bottom of the rankings. To get there, perhaps he can fall back on his prior experience coaching defensive backs for the San Francisco 49ers (2016), Indianapolis Colts (2012-15) and Baltimore Ravens (2010-11). Anderson also has experience in the front office, getting his start in the NFL as a player personnel assistant for the Ravens in 2005.
The list of coaches Anderson worked for before John Harbaugh gave him his first shot in Baltimore is rather impressive. He was a student assistant working with wide receivers at LSU for Nick Saban in 2003 before moving on to Florida State as a graduate assistant working with quarterbacks under Bobby Bowden. Anderson also worked with quarterbacks as a graduate assistant in 2002 at Florida A&M where his coaching career began.
Anderson attended Howard University from 1998 to 2001 where he played quarterback and was an All Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete as a senior.
The only coaching position the Bears haven’t filled this offseason is the outside linebacker coach position vacated by Clintt Hurt, whose contract was not renewed.