NEWSLETTER
Sean Desai is just two games into his tenure as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, a franchise historically steeped in a rich history of defensive greatness, but his journey here was unlike any other.
This morning, The Atheltic’s Adam Jahns provides us with a profound understanding of Desai’s path to the NFL.
“There’s no easy way to success. He’s not someone’s son. He wasn’t born into a football family. What he did, he did all on his own.”
Inside the rise of Bears DC Sean Desai, the NFL’s first Indian American coordinator
My story only on @TheAthletic https://t.co/BVwwLrLKhR
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) September 24, 2021
Adam Jahn’s tells a detailed story of Sean Deasai’s football beginnings from his front yard scrimmages, through his early days as a graduate assistant at Temple, and eventually his rise in Chicago under three different head coaches.
Desai’s football story starts in Shelton, Conn., where Sean, younger brother Semil and older cousins Shyam and Nihar played two-hand touch in the front yard of the family’s home. Kickoffs were thrown and run back. Each team got four downs, but more were awarded if you crossed the halfway point of the yard. On defense, you were allowed one blitz every four downs.
The teams were separated by age. Sean always ended up covering Shyam, his oldest cousin, whose three-year age advantage posed challenges.
“(Sean) was always there in every single down,” Shyam said. “Maybe once and a while if a throw’s off he might be able to stop the play. But overall, when you have a height and age difference at that age, he had no shot.
“But every single down, he felt he could do it. He was just like a constant pitbull going at it with no regard to having a shot at it or not. He didn’t care. He was just going to keep coming with a tenacity.”
Adam Jahn’s deep dive on the life and journey of the NFL’s first Indian-American coordinator in league history is, without a doubt, today’s must-read for football fans.
