NEWSLETTER
Sean Desai’s new defensive staff continues to take shape.
After hiring new coaches to put their hands on the defensive linemen, as well as the inside and outside linebackers, Desai is bringing on someone to help in the secondary.
The Bears are hiring retired NFL safety Mike Adams as an assistant defensive backs coach.
Adams, 39, played 228 games (149 starts) during his 14-year career. He made Pro Bowls as a Colts strong safety in 2014 and 2015, and has 10 games of postseason experience he can lean on. Most recently, Adams played six games (plus two postseason contests) with the Texans in 2019.
Hmmm … Texans, eh? Hope he had a good relationship with Deshaun Watson during that one-year stint. Can’t hurt, could help. Just saying…
Adams joins Chris Rumph (DL Coach), Bill McGovern (ILBs Coach), and Bill Shuey (OLBs Coach) as new position coaches under a new defensive coordinator. And to think, more could be on the way:
The Bears are considering creating a position for a senior defensive assistant to work with new coordinator Sean Desai.
At least a couple of veteran coaches are available who would make sense for coach Matt Nagy.@BradBiggs' story: https://t.co/TSeo3jVlVo
— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) February 1, 2021
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears are exploring the possibility of creating a Senior Defensive Assistant position on their coaching staff. It’s the en vogue thing to hire an experienced defensive coach, give them a nifty title, and bring them on board to help out on staff. And as we saw this offseason with the Bears’ reported interest in Cowboys Senior Defensive Assistant George Edwards, it could pave the way for interviews and possibly a job elsewhere down the line.
What’s most interesting here is that former Packers DC Mike Pettine could be a candidate for the not-yet-created position. Pettine’s contract was not renewed in Green Bay, allowing the two sides to part ways without an ugly public breakup. The 54-year-old coach has eight seasons of experience as a defensive coordinator, plus seven other years as an NFL assistant. Oh, and he has two years of experience as a head coach with the Browns.
Most recently, the Packers’ defense ranked ninth in yards and 13th in points in 2020. That’s not awful, but sandwiching a 7th ranking in takeaways between years of ranking 29th and 25th probably didn’t help his case to stick around for another season. Recent history might caution against hiring Pettine, there’s nothing wrong with bringing in another defensive-minded coach as an overseer. Especially when the new DC is a first-time play-caller.
The other person of interest for the job that still isn’t a thing yet is Bob Sutton. The 70-year-old coach has nine years of experience as a defensive coordinator with the Jets (2006-08) and Chiefs (2013-18). Last we saw Sutton’s defense was in 2018, when KC ranked 31st in yards and 24th in points. Sure, Kansas City had the eighth-most takeaways in 2018. But that effort in the AFC title game was essentially the final straw. Sutton hasn’t coached in the NFL since.
In any case, let’s keep an eye on how Desai rounds out his staff. There’s been plenty of turnover for a group that finished in the top-10 in Football Outsiders’ DVOA for the third consecutive season. Ideally, new voices would help elevate a talented group. Then again, will it matter if the offense can’t pull its fair share of the weight?
