The Bears have promoted longtime associate Sean Desai to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position after the sudden retirement of Chuck Pagano. Desai was the quality control coach from 2013-2018 and then moved up to safeties coach for the past two seasons. It looks like this guy puts in the work, but our safeties weren’t exactly the best either. To me, this hire has Matt Nagy all over it. Another coach that will not question what Nagy is doing throughout next season.
The Bears did interview a couple of other choices: former 49ers head coach and Bears legend Mike Singletary; Cowboys senior defensive assistant George Edwards; and former Cardinals and Giants defensive coordinator, James Bettcher. In the end, it seems the Bears were just doing lip service and giving the media something to talk about.
As a fan, I hope Desai proves me wrong and shows that he is ready to take the reins as the defensive coordinator. I hope he makes this defense his own and does not act like a puppet, or worse, another scapegoat for Nagy. I feel like Pagano fell into this trap in his second year with the team; you saw it in the defense’s overall play.
The Bears announced they are keeping Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. They seem to feel that this staff has the team heading on the right track. I just can’t back this and think this hiring is a slap in the face to all the candidates that could’ve gotten the job. Don’t get your hopes up too high Bears fans, because the 2021-22 season is looking like it’s going to be a rough one with no sense of direction or plans for future success.