Chicago Bears: Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano retires

Chuck Pagano is retiring from coaching in the NFL

After plenty of waiting on January 12th after news broke that the Chicago Bears were going to make some big decisions, the first big news came out. Bears’ defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is retiring from coaching.

This will now be the third time in four seasons that the Bears will be hiring a defensive coordinator. Pagano came in in 2019 after Vic Fangio left to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos.

The Bears’ defense under Pagano regressed greatly from the 2018 season in which the Bears had Fangio. Their defense was a turnover-machine that created a lot of splash plays for their offense, but Pagano brought his passivity to the defense and in turn limited a lot of players on the team such as Eddie Jackson, Khalil Mack, and Kyle Fuller.

Now Ryan Pace, if he is retained as general manager, will be tasked with replacing Pagano and finding a new defensive coordinator that can get the most out of this talented defensive unit that boasts multiple All-Pros and Pro Bowlers.

Potential Replacements

The Bears have multiple places to look for a new defensive coordinator, but the first place they should look is inhouse at their own defensive line coach Jay Rodgers. Rodgers learned under Fangio and was one of his best assistants while here in Chicago. Fangio suckered his other assistant Ed Donatell to join him in Denver, but Rodgers stayed here in Chicago.

Rodgers’ defensive line unit has always been stellar as he constantly makes the most out of his players. Every year he consistently turns forgotten players, undrafted free agents, and late-round picks into great linemen for the Bears. Good examples of this are Bilal Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Brent Urban.

Final Thoughts:

Basically, it is about time that Pagano is gone. He has wasted the talent on this defense for too long. Now, the Bears need to go after a defensive coordinator that will use the Bears’ talented defense to what they are best at and create the splash plays we once saw in 2018. This is a step in the right direction for this Bears’ organization.