3 things to know about Chicago Bears ST coordinator Richard Hightower

The Chicago Bears hired Richard Hightower to be their special team’s coach. This is a position that you do not really want to know who is coaching the unit because that means they are not making big mistakes. Perhaps a few special teams coaches can make a huge difference but the key, for the most part, is to take what is given and not make mistakes.

If all goes well for Richard Hightower we will not hear much on his end. So, what should we know about him for the here and now?

3. Richard Hightower has a strong relationship with Kyle Shanahan

Richard Hightower and Kyle Shanahan go all the way back to their days in Texas. The two of them were walk-ons under Mack Brown, and of course, Hightower wound up earning a scholarship because of his special team’s play.

Hightower did not get his start with Shanahan, but rather an extension. In 2006, he worked for the Houston Texans when Gary Kubiak was the head coach. Kubiak worked and played under Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos, so it probably helped to be friends with the coach’s kid.

In 2010, he linked back up with Shanahan on Washington. The two were there until 2014, and when Shanahan went to the Cleveland Browns, he brought Hightower with him. When Shanahan went to Atlanta, Hightower went a different way, but once again in 2017, the duo linked back up when Shanahan was named a head coach for the first time. That was also the first time that Hightower was named special teams coach.

You can see that Hightower spent enough time elsewhere that he earned his keep, but it had to help that he was good friends with Shanahan back to the days that Shanahan was living in a dorm.