The Chicago Bears have several openings among their coaching staff and have filled the most important one with a familiar face.
Following the retirement of Chuck Pagano, Bears is hiring Sean Desai to serve as the team’s new defensive coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Desai served as a bear safety coach from 2019-2020, but has been with the team since 2013, where he served as a quality control assistant before being promoted to safety coach.
The Bears interviewed a lot of candidates, including a few outside names like James Bettcher, Jonathon Gannon and even Mike Singletary. But in the end, they decided to promote from the inside with Desai.
Desai is one of the disciples of the former bear coordinator Vic Fangio, so he has a good understanding of how to use these players in a similar system.
Just so you know how high the Bears were, they blocked Fangio from taking Desai to Denver, according to Brad Biggs, when Fangio took over as head coach.
By promoting from the inside, Chicago should avoid a complete reshuffle of the coaches on the defensive side of the ball. Minus defensive line Jay Rodgers, who is expected to reunite with Brandon Staley with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fighting Irish Wire: ND coverage of the US TODAY network