The True Test Will Be in Results for Sean Desai
The excitement among Bears defensive backs who worked closely with new defensive coordinator Sean Desai in the past could hardly be contained during their offseason work.
Desai has a familiar audience among this group and plenty of backing from them as he goes about diverting the defense back toward the Vic Fangio style of play.
"You know just the relationship that me and Sean have and what he's been through," Bears safety Eddie Jackson said. "You know, he's been a guy behind the scenes for a very long time, even before I got here.
"Through the process of when I was here that was one of the guys that helped me the most, you know, learning the plays, learning the schemes. So for him to get that type of promotion, man, I feel like is huge and it's well deserved."
From scheme knowledge to the ability to convey schemes on a personal basis, it seems Desai was made for the job of defensive coordinator. Whether he can actually do something similar to what former Bears assistant Brandon Staley has done is the question.
Like Desai, Staley was heralded for his great football knowledge and ability to convey it to players as an assistant with the Bears and then Denver Broncos. Given charge of the Rams defense, he turned them into the league's top group and landed a head coaching job with the Chargers.
Being in charge is different, but it apparently hasn't kept Desai from getting his points across so far. It's resulted in one positive change according to Jaylon Johnson.
"I'd say he's bringing a lot more attention to detail to everything that we're doing," cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. "That's a big focus point in all aspects of our defense in terms of every position just being more detailed-oriented in our technique and our disguising and things like that.
"So it's just about just getting better each and every day, the technique and just kind of learning the defense so we’re being able to play together better."
Out of the mouths of babes ...
Johnson, in all of his one year of experience in the NFL, saw how Chuck Pagano coached the defense last year and views Desai as more detailed.
Of course, Pagano last year didn't have the benefit of teaching the rookies on the field during the offseason the way Desai's defense was taught.
Regardless, how players were coached isn't as relevant as what they're coached and how the players then apply it.
The key to the Bears defense under Fangio was disguising their coverages. They liked to play cover-3 zone or quarters and keep quarterbacks guessing by hiding their intent until even after the snap. The end result is it gave defensive players a bit of an edge.
In this respect, veterans also see Desai as a positive change.
"A guy who's going to let his playmakers make plays," safety Tashaun Gipson said. "That's one of the things—he's not going to handicap anybody on defense. With a guy like Sean, you see that everybody is going to be able to make plays."
The bottom line then should be more takeaways.
"I would just say turnovers," Johnson said. "I feel like we didn't turn the ball over as much and I feel that that's what the game's about, being able to take the ball away and create turnovers and get the ball back to the offense."
How Quickly They Forget
It's very easy to toss dirt on the Chuck Pagano defensive approach now when he's not here coaching the team.
What the players do not say is the turnovers have to be made on the field by them. The coach doesn't do it.
Fangio was supposed to be the defensive guru Desai patterns himself after, and his Bears defense had 27 interceptions in 2018. However, Fangio was here three seasons before 2018 and in each one of those the Bears tied their single-season franchise record low by making only eight interceptions. Pagano's defenses each of the last two years had more interceptions than Fangio's first three defenses—not by much, but more nonetheless.
In the end it's on the players to actually make the plays and there is only so much an assistant and coordinator will be able to do.
The other unexplored aspect of Desai's ability is one no one will know a thing about until games begin.
He's obviously the teacher he has to be and has command of the system Fangio brought. On game day, it's all about the defensive scheme and decision making. Calling the defenses in games is something he hasn't been doing, and ultimately it's the biggest deciding factor in putting players in position to make plays on the ball.
Bears players in the Lovie Smith era on defense all had great love for former linebackers coach Bob Babich and swore by his coaching abilities. Babich inherited one of the best defenses in the NFL. Then, under him they finished 28th, 21st and 17th in yards allowed before Smith took back over his own defense. Babich went to Jacksonville and the Jaguars were between 26th and 31st each of three seasons before finishing sixth and second in the two years after Babich was let go.
How will it work out during games? Can Desai duplicate what Fangio did then?
"We were both in the booth and he sat next to me," Desai said after being hired. "Well, I sat next to him, I should say. He got to choose where he wanted to sit. I was just put next to him. But I sat next to him and so I was able to reflect on every game, within the game and after the game of why certain things happened, certain situations, why he called that."
It's different now making the calls, just like it's different heading up the defense overall.
"Sometimes you see young guys who work and then they move to different places," Nagy said. "And you have to build the relationships. He (Desai) has a lot of relationships as a quality control coach, as a position coach that now, in a different role, you have to be in charge of everybody.
"And what I think that Sean has done behind the scenes that you (media) guys can't see out there on the practice field is I think he's done a really good job coaching the new coaches and the coaches who are currently here and explaining to them what our team and his defensive standards and expectations are going into this year."
The question no one will have an answer for until they play the Rams in the opener is whether Desai can outcoach other coaches and stop people like Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins and maybe even Aaron Rodgers.
Then they'll be able to say they have a Fangio clone and not just a disciple.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
