Mike Pettine and Bob Sutton are potential candidates if the Chicago Bears hire a senior defensive assistant to aid first-time coordinator Sean Desai
Matt Nagy moved closer to finalizing his coaching staff for the 2021 season last week, but some vacancies remain and sources say the Chicago Bears are considering creating a position for a senior defensive assistant.
The Bears haven’t had anyone in that role recently, but adding the position would make sense if Nagy can find the right candidate to work with first-time coordinator Sean Desai and serve as a sounding board.
Nagy hired three position coaches last week, adding Chris Rumph (defensive line) and Bill McGovern (inside linebackers) and promoting Bill Shuey (outside linebackers). The Bears still need to hire a running backs coach, and while passing game coordinator Dave Ragone departed to become offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons, it’s possible that spot goes unfilled.
Nagy could use the money the Bears were spending on Ragone to hire a veteran coach to assist Desai and the defense. It’s not like the team is lacking when it comes to coaches working with the quarterbacks with Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
The Bears continued to pursue James Bettcher even after promoting Desai from safeties coach, and the thinking was Bettcher was a potential addition as a senior assistant. Instead, the San Francisco 49ers hired the former Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants coordinator.
At least a couple of veteran coaches are available who would make sense for Nagy.
The Green Bay Packers parted with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine last week after his contract expired. While Pettine has been scapegoated for the bad coverage at the end of the first half on a Tampa Bay Buccaneers touchdown in the NFC championship game, the Packers improved across the board on defense this season, ranking ninth in total defense, 13th versus the run, seventh versus the pass and tied for 10th on third down. They were much better defensively during the second half of the season.
Pettine, who was head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015, has also been the defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. He served as a consultant for the Seattle Seahawks in 2017.
The interesting tie-in here as the Bears try to get back to the success they achieved under former coordinator Vic Fangio is that Pettine worked with Fangio in Baltimore for three seasons from 2006 through 2008. So he’s familiar with the principles of the scheme, and Nagy has been complimentary of Pettine when talking about the Packers defense the last three seasons. Nagy and Pettine are both represented by agent Trace Armstrong, the former Bears defensive lineman.
Bob Sutton, who was with the Falcons the last two seasons, could be another possibility for Nagy. They overlapped in Kansas City, where Sutton was defensive coordinator from 2013 through 2018. The Falcons hired Sutton as a senior assistant in 2019, and his status in Atlanta is uncertain as the team undergoes a complete regime change.
The key for this potential hire is identifying a coach who would be comfortable in a role in which Desai runs the defense and he helps out as an extra set of eyes with previous coordinator experience.
