Bears 22nd in Special Teams Rankings

Bears special teams coach Richard Hightower will get a chance to be a head coach for a week.

Like former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, Hightower has been named to be head coach in an all-star bowl game. Hightower will coach the East team in the East-West Shrine Bowl Feb. 1.

Hightower's Bears special teams units finished up ranked 22nd overall in the Rick Goesselin Special Teams ranking system. They were second among teams in the NFC North.

Hightower will coach the East team and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will coach the West team.

The game will be played at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. This is the 99th East-West Shrine Bowl.

Getsy last year was a head coach in the Senior Bowl, the other all-star bowl game in the predraft process. There had been another all-star bowl game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, but the decision was made last August to discontinue that one afte 12 years.

Hightower became Bears special teams coordinator when Matt Eberflus took over as coach in 2022. He was 49ers special teams coordinator from 2017-21 and before that coached as a special teams assistant with the Bears in 2016 and 49ers in 2015. He has been in the NFL as an assistant since 2006.

Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi will join Hightower in the game as his defensive coordinator.

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