Chicago Bears 2018 Off-Season: The Best, Worst and Most Puzzling
By Erik Lambert
The Chicago Bears 2018 off-season has been something to watch. Teams that tend to go through this many changes can often come out looking worse than before.
Then again the Bears haven’t had a winning record in three years under GM Ryan Pace, so it was clear he had to change something. Every major period from hiring new coaches, to free agency and the draft saw Chicago be aggressive in pursuit of the best talent possible. So many moves were made. It’s hard to categorize them all. So what about a different way?
Here are a quick breakdown of the best, worst, most puzzling and sneaky good moves they made from January to now.
COACHING STAFF
Best move: Keeping Vic Fangio
Matt Nagy’s most critical moment as a coach came with his first big decision. He had to succeed where Marc Trestman failed, keeping the veteran defensive coordinator in place. This he did, helping to lure Vic Fangio back to Chicago on a new three-year deal. Fangio is now able to see if he can take his 10th ranked defense even further with another infusion of talent courtesy of free agency and the draft. All while getting an assist from an improved offense.
Worst move: Mike Furrey as wide receivers coach
Given how important it is that the Bears ensure the receiver position is a success this year, it’s rather stunning they’d entrust it to Furrey. Yes, he’s a former NFL receiver himself. That is a good advantage but still this is a man who has never even coached at a major college program. Never mind at the pro level. It feels like Nagy could’ve and probably should’ve found somebody with more proven experience. Furrey may turn out well but this feels like a reach.
Puzzling move: Mark Helfrich at offensive coordinator
Give Nagy credit. He doesn’t fear to be bold. Helfrich is a wild choice. Not only is this a guy who was out of coaching in 2017, he also has never worked in the NFL before. So there is a lot of unknown here. At the same time, Helfrich is considered one of the sharper offensive minds in the game. A key architect of the dominant Oregon teams from 2009 to 2015. If the Bears can tap into that reservoir, this may be something.
Sleeper move: Brandon Staley at outside linebacker coach
Prior to the draft, the Bears spoke with two of the top edge rushers in the 2018 class in Bradley Chubb and Marcus Davenport. Both referenced new outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley by name as someone they liked the idea of working with. It’s never a bad thing when players gravitate to a coach. Staley does seem to have a knack with OLBs though. He had a hand in the development of DeiVondre Campbell and Markus Golden during his early career.