Sean Desai became quite a celebrity overnight when the Chicago Bears named him their new defensive coordinator. It is one of the most prestigious jobs in NFL history after all. Four different men have ridden to a future head coaching gig in the league. George Allen, Buddy Ryan, Ron Rivera, and Vic Fangio. So when this organization picks a man for that position, it comes with pretty high expectations.
Desai is a wild card. He’s been with the organization as an assistant since 2013. He didn’t gain prominent status until 2019 though, being promoted to safeties coach. Now the Bears are prepared to hand him the keys to a defense that has finished in the top 11 for five of the past six seasons. Is he ready for such a challenge? On the flip side, who exactly are these players getting?
Some people have a pretty good idea.
One interesting bit of backstory on Desai. He had a doctorate in education and loves teaching classes in his spare time. It’s something he’s been doing since his days at Temple. According to Sean Hammond of Shaw Media, the 37-year old has kept himself sharp teaching courses at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. In speaking with some of his students, they offer a word of warning to Bears players. They best get ready.
“He was all business,” Booth said. “As an instructor, to me, I felt that he was tough, he expected performance, but he was fair and he was generous with sharing his knowledge. I kind of view him as a perfectionist. He graded every assignment with direct feedback.”
By the sound of things, it appears the defense isn’t going to get the laidback style Chuck Pagano brought during the past two years. Desai sounds a lot similar to Fangio. Relationships with players are fine but he knew he could never afford to go easy on them. He believed in tough love. The results spoke for themselves. Another strength the two seem to share? Attention to detail.
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Dudley, who works in human resources at AbbVie, definitely saw the perfectionist in Desai. The in-person portion of the class – once a week for three and a half hours – felt as if it were scheduled “down to the minute,” Dudley said.
Sean Desai sounds like somebody who will be big on accountability
That was one thing that people always seemed to have a problem with Pagano about. It seemed like he never quite held his players to a high standard. Not like Fangio did. He didn’t just expect them to be great. He demanded it. That sounds like the same sort of personality and approach Desai will have. Work hard and play hard but also play smart. This is what made the Bears defense so effective a few years ago.
The saying always goes that coaches need to be teachers for their players. How perfect is it that Sean Desai is an actual teacher. He probably would’ve done it for a living if he hadn’t pursued his passion for football. There is no denying his intelligence. What it will come down to is whether he can effectively communicate with his players. Can he get them to buy into what he’s selling?
If so, they have the talent to remain very good in 2021.
If the man is like his former mentor Fangio, then the Bears chose wisely. There’s been buzz around the league for years that Desai has the makings of a future head coach in the NFL. His will be his opportunity to prove it. Most good head coaches have the type of approach he seems to choose. Two-time Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin called it “firm, fair, honest, and demanding.” It’s never a bad thing having somebody like that on the staff.