It is certainly not the news we would like to hear in Chicago …
By Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears are about to lose their defensive line coach Jay Rodgers to the Los Angeles Chargers.
His new role has yet to be confirmed, but in all likelihood, he will be the new Defense Coordinator for the Chargers. Jay Rodgers was an internal candidate for the Bears with the same vacancy. Now, he meets with former Bears OLB coach Brandon Staley as they seek to use his sledgehammer named Joey Bosa to destroy QBs at AFC.
To say “this is a big loss”, in itself, is an understatement.
He is one of the best coaches in his NFL position group, by a considerable margin. In Chicago alone, we have seen your incredible work touch all levels of the depth chart. From the big stars in Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, to the promising stallions in Bilal Nichols and Roy Robertson-Harris, even the rotating guys found on the streets played well when called upon.
Originally arriving at the Chicago Bears with Vic Fangio and John Fox in 2015, we saw a fair amount of consistency in the effort, production and discipline of the break. He also has experience as a defender coach and has long been prepared for a position in DC. Whoever is hired as the new coach for the Bears D line will have, for the most part, great positions to fill.
Meanwhile, Sean Desai appears as the only internal candidate at Halas Hall, with no recent mention of Mark DeLeone or Ted Monachino receiving the nod. Combined with the growing list of outside candidates – Jonathan Gannon, George Edwards, James Bettcher and Mike Singletary were interviewed for DC’s position – and this suggests that we may be hiring an outsider as the new Big Boss in defense.
Stay tuned….