Successful coaches in the NFL don’t reach the mountaintop without being given an opportunity. Matt Nagy never thought he’d be a head coach after retiring from Arena Football. He was all set to enter the real estate business when a timely phone call changed his life. He took an internship with the Philadelphia Eagles. Ten years later he was in charge of the Chicago Bears.
Since then Nagy has made it his mission to afford the same opportunities to other young coaches. He’s a major advocate of the Bill Walsh fellowship program which gives minority coaches a chance to break into the business. Every year the Bears have hosted such coaches during training camp and 2020 was no different.
This time though it appears one made quite a positive impression. Nagy revealed during his latest press conference that the Bears would be retaining Henry Burris as an assistant coach moving forward. He’ll have the duties of scouting future opponents and keeping a close eye on the Bears’ roster to see if certain areas might need tweaking.
Chicago Bears got a grinder in Henry Burris
It’s no surprise the Bears ended up hiring Burris. If anybody understands the grind of football and what it takes to achieve your dream, it’s him. After starting his career in the CFL, he came south and ended up signing with the Bears in 2002. He played a couple of games but never really stood out enough to stick around. Rather than be discouraged, he continued following his dream.
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By the time the dust finally settled in 2016, Burris was a four-time Grey Cup champion and would end up in the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame. A truly inspiring story. Now he’s moving on to the next phase. The love of football doesn’t end with the shoulder pads are hung up. Burris wants to enter the coaching ranks. Being a former QB, he’s obviously intelligent.
A team can never have enough of that. It will be great to see if the man has a far more productive second run with the Bears than his first.
