The Chicago Bears defense has dealt with some turmoil over the past 12 months. They suffered a number of health setbacks during the season and several key players didn’t perform up to their usual standards. This resulted in a considerable regression. Now they’ve lost their second defensive coordinator in a three-year span with Chuck Pagano opting to retire at the age of 60. Now Sean Desai is preparing to take his place.
This has been a long journey for the 37-year old. He arrived in Chicago way back in 2013 as an assistant on Mel Tucker’s staff. He went on to survive the coaching purge in 2015, earning a place on Vic Fangio’s staff. Eventually, he earned the job as safeties coach in 2019. Now the next step is at hand, becoming the first interior promotion the Bears have made at defensive coordinator since Rod Marinelli in 2010.
Former players applauded the move. So what about the current ones?
Bilal Nichols was the first defender interview following the Desai promotion by Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns. He’s been around the coach ever since he was a rookie in 2018. So his assessment of the new coordinator carries a bit more weight than others. By the sound of things, Nichols is pretty excited about the idea. He and other players are well aware of how smart of a coach Desai is and what he can do for their defense.
Why? The primary reason is how similar his philosophy is to Fangio. Many have said the man is essentially a disciple of the former Bears coordinator. The way he’ll organize and execute the defense will have a lot of Fangio flavor to it. Considering how good this defense was under his watch? It’s easy to see why Nichols and others are excited.
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Sean Desai is already showing his intelligence
How? Through the construction of his coaching staff. After losing several assistants to jobs elsewhere, Desai opted to focus on assistants who bring lots of experience to the table. Chris Rumph and Bill McGovern have coached for decades at both the college and NFL levels. Both take over their primary areas of expertise. The same goes for Bill Shuey who was promoted to take over the outside linebackers.
Not only that but there are rumors former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine could join the staff as a senior assistant. It’s evident Sean Desai has good self-awareness. He knows his biggest problem is his lack of experience. The smart way to counter that is by surrounding himself with tons of experience at every position group. This way if he ever gets confused in situations, he’ll have multiple people around who’ve seen them before.
That speaks to a man who isn’t about ego.
He is about results. Just like Fangio was. Students the man taught in college all say the same thing. He’s tough, detailed, and a bit of a perfectionist. He sets high standards for himself and the people he teaches. One can expect that same style to carry over into his coaching. Sounds like exactly what the Bears defense needs after a frustrating 2020.