The Chicago Bears coaching staff has seen a lot of turnover in the past few years. It was overhauled in 2018 with the arrival of Matt Nagy. Then in 2019 Vic Fangio left, forcing the team to remake the defensive staff with Chuck Pagano and his crew. Then this offseason Nagy decided to revamp the offensive staff with three new faces in Juan Castillo, Bill Lazor, and John DeFilippo.

Yet amidst all this turmoil, one man has steered through the storm. Sean Desai arrived in Chicago as a quality control coach in 2015. A personal hire of John Fox. He’d built a strong reputation during his run in college at Temple University. The guy was known for his high intelligence and ability to connect with his players.

It appears his steady hand and strong work has caught the attention of the wide NFL. Insider Lindsay Jones and other members of The Athletic pegged the Bears safeties coach as one of the top assistants in the league under the age of 40.

“Desai is entering his eighth NFL season and second as a position coach, leading the Bears’ safeties. He was the youngest coordinator in college football in 2010 when he ran special teams at Temple. He’s one of the only Indian-American coaches in the NFL and also has a master’s degree as well as a Ph.D. in educational administration, giving him a unique profile for a coach in the NFL. Desai was Vic Fangio’s right-hand man in the coaching booth as a quality control coach from 2015-18 and is the longest-tenured assistant on the Bears’ staff.”

Chicago Bears may have others courting Desai soon

Desai faced a tough situation in 2019. He was promoted to run the safety position for the first time and had to do it under a new coordinator who was going to tweak the scheme he’d known for the previous four seasons. All things considered, he handled it pretty well. Eddie Jackson reached his second Pro Bowl and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix wasn’t terrible. With the rookie jitters out of the way, it feels like 2020 could be the year he really shows what he can do.

If what’s said about him is true, then it might not be long before other teams start to hear whispers about his prowess. Then it will become more difficult for the Bears to keep him on the staff. Especially after the league removed the ability of teams to block coaches from taking advancement opportunities. Hanging onto quality assistants has always been a problem for the Bears.