When people talk about the Chicago Bears defense, they mention the players most of the time these days. Not hard to understand given the star power. Khalil Mack. Eddie Jackson. Akiem Hicks. Kyle Fuller. Roquan Smith. Danny Trevathan. Now new addition Robert Quinn. It’s an impressive array of talent. Yet in all these discussions, it’s surprising how little Chuck Pagano gets mentioned.
That wasn’t the case before. Vic Fangio was always getting talked about when he was in Chicago. So many people handed him credit whenever the defense did well. That isn’t a criticism. Fangio was an excellent coach and deserves the praise. At the same time, why doesn’t Pagano get more credit for how well the defense played last season? Especially despite losing multiple players to season-ending injuries.
Perhaps it’s because most people still think this is Fangio’s defense, fair or not. The bottom line is can Pagano improve on what was accomplished last season? Based on his track record, that can and should be the case. As an assistant coach and a head coach, one thing has proven consistent for Pagano over the past 19 years.
His defenses always improved from their first year under him to their second.
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- 2001 Browns – 15th
- 2002 Browns – 10th
- 2005 Raiders – 25th
- 2006 Raiders – 18th
- 2008 Ravens – 3rd
- 2009 Ravens – 3rd
- 2012 Colts – 21st
- 2013 Colts – 9th
Chuck Pagano is not Fangio but that doesn’t mean he’s inferior
Fangio was and still is a great defensive mind. He’s proving that again in Denver as he’s proven for years. Yet people act like Pagano isn’t in his league. Nothing about his track record suggests that is true. He was consistently great as a defensive backs coach and has produced two top 10 defenses in his only two years as a coordinator for two different teams.
Bad coaches tend not to accomplish things like that.
Pagano is going to do things his way. He’ll be aggressive. He won’t sit back and let the opposing offense dictate things. That might lead to some frustrating big plays allowed. However, one can bet on this. His players will execute much better and create more impact plays of their own. This should lead to the biggest goal of all.
More wins.