The Chicago Bears have hides an ex-NFL standout to coach defensive backs in 2019, but it’s not who you might have had in mind:
#Bears Coaching Update: We have hired Deshea Townsend as Defensive Backs Coach and Ronell Williams as Defensive Quality Control Coach.
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) January 18, 2019
Deshea Townsend has been hired to coach the Bears’ defensive backs. Townsend takes over for Ed Donatell, who left to follow Vic Fangio to Denver. Unlike when Donatell arrived in 2015, Townsend inherits a loaded secondary that includes two All-Pros (cornerback Kyle Fuller, safety Eddie Jackson) and was the best in the league last season. Lucky guy.
Townsend was a fourth-round pick out of Alabama back in 1998 and spent 13 seasons in the NFL. He might be best known as a role player on the Super Bowl XL winning Steelers team. Since retiring in 2010, Townsend has since coached for the Cardinals (Assistant DBs, 2011-12), Mississippi State (CBs, 2013-15), Titans (DBs Coach, 2016-17), and Giants (Assistant DBs, 2018). So at least he doesn’t come to Chicago as an inexperienced coach. And he has coached some studs along the way, including Landon Collins and Patrick Peterson, so that’s neat.
New Defensive Quality Control Coach Ronell Williams was an intern on the Bears’ staff last summer and was a recipient of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He spent the last two years coaching at Temple as a graduate assistant (2017) and defensive analyst (2018).
The Bears still have openings as an Assistant DBs Coach and two linebackers coaches, so there is still work to be done.