Chicago Bears could be replacing these assistant coaches
Jay Rodgers Ι Defensive Line Coach for the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are likely to lose their defensive line coach if they do not promote him. Promoting Jay Rodgers by giving him an extra title will not be enough. Matt Nagy should not even bat an eye with this one but needs to promote Rodgers to defensive coordinator. If he does not, there is a good chance another team will be giving him that responsibility.
Brandon Staley, who has met w/Jets and Chargers (and possibly Lions to come) would bring a very strong staff of rising coaches, I'm told, including Texans DC Anthony Weaver, Colts DB coach Jonathan Gannon (great work with that secondary) and Bears DL coach Jay Rodgers (former QB)
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 14, 2021
Rodgers has been one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL in my opinion. He is easily the best position coach on the Chicago Bears coaching staff. If the Bears think their fanbase is upset now because of the end of the season press conference, just wait until they see how angry fans get when Jay Rodgers is allowed to walk.
Rodgers joined the Chicago Bears during the John Fox hire. Working under former defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, Rodgers proved himself to the team and fans. Everyone was glad he stuck around and did not follow Fangio when he left for Denver’s head coaching job.
Since Rodgers has joined the Chicago Bears’ staff, he has helped Akiem Hicks reach Pro Bowl status for the first time in his career. Heading into 2020, Hicks was third in the NFL behind Aaron Donald and Geno Atkins with 23 sacks between 2016 and 2019. We have also seen players like Eddie Goldman, Roy Robertson-Harris and Bilal Nichols blossom into phenomenal players. Just this season, Mario Edwards was able to somewhat revive his career with four sacks.
Needless to say, losing Rodgers would be a big blow to this coaching staff. One the Chicago Bears cannot afford. Rodgers deserves a shot at being a defensive coordinator. He is rumored to be one of two internal candidates (Sean Desai the other) to be considered for the Bears job and Matt Nagy cannot let him interview elsewhere.