NEWSLETTER
Building a coaching staff while under the pressure of what figures to be a must-win year can’t be easy. And yet, the Chicago Bears must go about their business building the best group of assistants they can while under a microscope. Otherwise, there might not be a next year.
So after hiring Chris Rumph away from the Texans to coach their defensive line, it counts as a sign of progress to see the Bears land another assistant coach:
Bill McGovern as inside linebackers coach is the 2nd hire of the day for Matt Nagy and the #Bears. https://t.co/C0ZFhb6jz7
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) January 28, 2021
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports the Bears are hiring Bill McGovern as their new inside linebackers coach.
McGovern steps in for Mark DeLeone, who left Chicago to take the same position with the Detroit Lions. It’s never a good thing to see a quality assistant skip town, let alone do so to join a division rival. But at least the Bears aren’t sitting on their hands waiting when they could be looking for a replacement.
It’s worth noting that McGovern coached Boston College’s linebackers from 2000-12. During that time, McGovern crossed paths with new Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai. Back in 2012, Desai was coached running backs and special teams for BC. So there’s some notable crossover there and perhaps one reason McGovern jumped on board. Moreover, it’s a nice reminder to never burn bridges at a previous employer. You never know when you might cross paths again.
As for the rest of McGovern’s résumé, it’s one with quite a bit of college flavor. McGovern made stops at Holy Cross (1986-87, 1991-92), Massachussetts (1988-90, 1993), Boston College (1994-96, 2000-12), Pittsburgh (1997-99), and Nebraska (2020). Sprinkled into a career coaching everything from defensive backs, linebackers, and kickers on college campuses were a pair of stints in the NFL. From 2016-19, McGovern coached Giants linebackers. And prior to that stint, he was the Eagles’ outside linebackers coach from 2013-15. So it’s not as if the NFL is a totally new experience for him.
Here’s to McGovern taking any knowledge he put on Luke Kuechly’s plate during his time at Boston College and relaying it to Roquan Smith starting in 2021.
