In what its a noteworthy trend, the Chicago Bears’ offseason check-list grows by one again.
Because in addition to needing a defensive coordinator (bye, Chuck Pagano!), DL Coach (¡adiós, Jay Rodgers!), and RBs Coach (ciao, Charles London), the Bears now need a new pass game coordinator:
We have announced three coordinators on Arthur Smith's coaching staff.
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) January 21, 2021
At least one of the faces in the tweet embedded above should look familiar to Bears fans, as Dave Ragone joins Arthur Smith’s staff in Atlanta. The Falcons hired Ragone to be the team’s offensive coordinator. It’s a promotion for Ragone, but Smith will call the plays on offense. Doing it this way allows Ragone to jump into a coordinator role without the pressure of running the show upon landing in town. That’s nice
Smith and Ragone coached together while both were in Tennessee from 2011-13. Ragone was the Titans’ WRs Coach (2011-12) and QBs Coach (2013), while Smith served as Defensive Quality Control (2011), Offensive Quality Control (2012), and Offensive Line Assistant/Assistant TEs (2013) in that span. That familiarity probably aided in Ragone getting to Atlanta in the first place.
Ragone was the longest-tenured Bears offensive coach before his departure. He was Chicago’s quarterbacks coach from 2016-19, then slid into a role as Pass Game Coordinator in 2020. Ragone’s move into that position accommodated the arrival of John DeFilippo to take over as quarterbacks coach.
As it stands, the Bears now have two coaching spots to fill on the offensive side of the ball. The Pass Game Coordinator gig isn’t one that comes with a ton of clarity. However, the Bears could promote from within should they decide to move Henry Burris up a level. Burris, one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history, joined the Bears’ coaching staff in 2020 as part of the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship program. He makes sense as an option. And because promotion within an organization is healthy, I wouldn’t mind seeing Burris work his way up the ranks.