One of the surprising moves of the offseason thus far for the Chicago Bears was their hiring of John DeFilippo. The former offensive coordinator was fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars this past month after just one year with the team. A somewhat surprising move given the success he had developing rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. This didn’t deter the Bears, who quickly scooped him up as their new quarterbacks coach, even elevating Dave Ragone to the new position of passing game coordinator to make it happen.
DeFilippo comes in with a strong reputation for coaching up quarterbacks. Several of his former pupils have gone on to varying degrees of success including Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl championship. He’s best known for his work with Carson Wentz and Nick Foles in 2017 when the Philadelphia Eagles won the title. The next year he got career numbers from Kirk Cousins in Minnesota and then there was his work with Minshew last season.
When speaking with Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer on Bears All-Access, he sounded like a guy who was fully prepared for the challenge ahead of him that is Mitch Trubisky.
“I’ve had a lot of experience with a lot of young players. That’s just kind of been the situations I’ve been thrown into. I think that’s a good thing. I think that helps you learn how to teach a bunch of young guys. Obviously Mitchell’s not a rookie or a second-year guy but at the same time he’s still kind of a fresh player in the NFL who’s impressionable. You can shape him in certain things you want him to do.
So I think a lot of the young guys I’ve had that have had success whether it be Derek Carr…Carson Wentz…Gardner Minshew was a seven-time Rookie of the Week this year. I think it’s going to help our team and I’m really looking forward to helping Coach Nagy and Coach Lazor do what they want to do.”
John DeFilippo is the last chance Trubisky has
Honestly, it’s hard to say whether there is anything else the Bears can do for Trubisky at this point. They’ve structured the entire offensive system around him. They now employ four separate coaches including the head coach who have extensive quarterback backgrounds. It doesn’t get much friendlier for a QB than what the Bears have put together. DeFilippo arguably being the most accomplished of the bunch.
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If Trubisky can’t morph into the player the team envisioned when they drafted him this coming season? Then the Bears will have their definitive answer. There is still a lot of hope inside the building that the 25-year old can turn things around. DeFilippo is known for his detailed approach and willingness to coach guys hard. He might be able to make things easier to understand. There is just no telling what will happen.
That said, at least the coach seems up to the challenge.
