For the next several months, most of the coaching talk will center around the big names with the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt Eberflus, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and defensive coordinator Alan Williams. Still, it takes more than three men to produce a successful staff. Others will be needed to step. Perhaps one of the most underrated pickups of the offseason is wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert.
Here is a man who has held his job with multiple teams dating back to 2003. In that time, he has worked with some special talents, including Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Demaryius Thomas, and Odell Beckham Jr. Yet it will be his ability to develop unheralded youngsters that might prove the most valuable trait for the Bears, especially when it comes to Dazz Newsome. Remember, the former 6th round pick is still on the roster. Given the moves made thus far by GM Ryan Poles, Newsome still has a fair chance of competing for playing time.
That might terrify some Bears fans, but not if Tolbert is involved. His track record is rather strong when tapping into late round picks or even undrafted free agents and making them productive. Here are a few examples.
Steve Johnson
A 7th round pick of Buffalo in 2008, he spent two years learning under Tolbert on the bench. Finally, in 2010, when he got an opportunity to play, he went over 1,000 yards and scored ten touchdowns. It was the first of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for him.
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Dave Gettis
The 2010 Panthers were an absolute train wreck with Jimmy Clausen at quarterback. Still, Tolbert managed to squeeze over 500 yards from the former 6th round pick that season. It’s a testament to his coaching skills that Gettis completely fell apart after he left too.
Darius Slayton
The 5th round pick from Auburn didn’t wow anybody during his college career. Yet the Giants saw something in him, and Tyke Tolbert helped illustrate why when Slayton posted 740 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. He topped 750 yards in his second season.
Tyke Tolbert understands how to speak their language
He played wide receiver at LSU. In addition, he also knows how hard it is to reach the NFL. Tolbert never got that opportunity despite wanting it so much. That is why he got into coaching. So it shouldn’t be a surprise he’d understand how to communicate with receivers that might come from more humble origins. Newsome is another example. He is an undersized kid from a basketball school in North Carolina that lived in the shadow of a teammate his entire college career.
Here he is again, a low draft pick of a GM who is no longer employed by the team he plays for. That is a tall mountain to climb. Yet the Bears seem to have left the door open. They haven’t made any notable move at wide receiver besides adding veteran Byron Pringle. One can presume they’ll add another draft pick next month, but it still offers Newsome a chance to carve out a role in this new offense. All he has to do is exactly what Tyke Tolbert tells him to. Things tend to work out when that happens.
