Why NFL Assistants Treat Bears Like Last Place They Want to Be
As the coaching shuffle continues and the Super Bowl approaches, it's apparent the situation the Bears find themselves in at the moment is not exactly desireable.
Top assistant coaching candidates are usually going to favor teams with security, a staff starting out in its first year is far more secure than one where management looks like it's on the verge of blowing things up.
After all, who wants to be on a staff one year and fired the next?
The Bears face just such a situation in hiring assistants to fill vacancies. It's already hurting them.
Detroit is hardly a destination place in the NFL or for the world in general, but first former Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn signed there as the new defensive coordinator for Dan Campbell, then running backs coach Duce Staley opted Monday to sign with the Lions as their new running backs coach after getting permission to leave the Eagles.
In both instances, the Bears had reported interest. ESPN had reported Glenn had two other teams looking at him and the Bears wound up promoting safeties coach Sean Desai to defensive coordinator after only two years as a position coach after Glenn was no longer available.
Couple this with the fact Jay Rodgers was so eager to flee town and join the staff of former Bears linebackers coach Brandon Staley on the Los Angeles Chargers, and it's not exactly rats leaving the ship but more like rats refusing to board the ship because they know there's a big ice berg out there.
The Bears still must sign a defensive line coach, a running backs coach, and they could add a passing game coordinator after Dave Ragone left to be Falcons offensive coordinator but may not fill what many would regard as a non-essential position. They also need to replace Rodgers, possibly fill Desai's old safeties coaching spot and according to a Chicago Tribune report must fill the outside linebackers job which Ted Monachino held for two years.
The team decided to part ways with Monachino after Khalil Mack produced 8 1/2 and nine sacks in two seasons and the edge rushers on the other side, Leonard Floyd in 2019 and Robert Quinn in 2020 had three and two sacks respectively.
Being put in a situation like this is not exclusive to the Bears. It happens every year when staffs change and there are some staffs on the edge of being turned over.
One way to prevent it is for ownership to take pre-emptive strikes and give their people the security which would attract better assistants.
Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips and board chairman George McCaskey two weeks ago spoke about how confident they are in the collaboration between GM Ryan Pace and Nagy and praised both men to the edge of sainthood.
Yet if they were so confident, then why did they not add a year on at least Nagy's deal to let possible assistants know this is still a destination point and not a jumping-off point?
It's because it is a teetering ship and they know it.
They just didn't want to stand before everyone and take complete responsiblity for the situation they helped create by committing more money. They took the easy way out rather than make that statement or firing everyone.
It's OK.
There will be plenty of blame to toss their way after the 2021 season if these assistant coaches who are avoiding the city of Chicago prove to be correct in their assessment.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
