3 Best moves the Chicago Bears made this offseason
By Joseph Herff
No. 3 – Chicago Bears new defensive coordinator Sean Desai
The third-best move of the Bears’ offseason was actually not a player move. It was actually when they chose to promote Sean Desai to defensive coordinator after Chuck Pagano announced his retirement following the 2020 season. Pagano was brought in to replace Vic Fangio after he became head coach of the Denver Broncos before the 2018 season.
Desai has been a member of the Chicago Bears organization since 2013. He was just a quality control assistant from the years 2013 to 2018. He mainly worked with the defensive backs and linebackers while additionally helping the special teams. Fangio tried to poach Desai to continue studying under him, but the Bears blocked it before promoting him to safeties coach in 2019.
What makes Desai special is his scheme and his understanding of the game. He is a pupil of Fangio who made this similar Bears’ defense arguably one of the scariest defenses of all time in 2018 in which they ranked first in points against, forced turnovers, interceptions, yards gained/pass, total rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns allowed.
Desai wants to implement a similar scheme this season with plenty of two-high safety schemes. That same scheme is what made Eddie Jackson arguably the best safety in the NFL. Players like Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks had their best seasons in a Bears’ uniform. The defense might not be exactly back, but Desai can turn it around from Pagano.