7 things to know about new Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai
The Chicago Bears found their new defensive coordinator in Sean Desai, who has served with the team dating back to 2013, when he was hired as a quality control assistant. Desai was promoted to safeties coach in 2019.
The Bears explored a variety of candidates for defensive coordinator, including James Bettcher, Johnathon Gannon and even Mike Singletary. But they ultimately decided to promote from within in Desai, who is one of the young, rising coaches in the NFL.
Here are seven things to know about Chicago’s new defensive coordinator.
Desai was Vic Fangio's right hand man
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The Bears defense was at its best under Fangio back in 2018, which is why it was so crushing when Fangio left for the Broncos head coaching job. While Chicago's defense was good under Pagano, it wasn't great. But it has a chance to return to greatness under Desai, who former Bears linebacker Sam Acho said was Fangio's right hand man for four years and helped build this defense. https://twitter.com/TheSamAcho/status/1351221553476866058?s=20
He's been compared to another rising star, Brandon Staley
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The Bears had a couple of internal candidates to replace Pagano as defensive coordinator, including Desai and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers. Rodgers is set to follow another former Bears coach Brandon Staley, who was hired as the Chargers' head coach last week. Staley was the perfect example of a rising, young star that the Bears let slip away in 2019 when they hired Pagano as defensive coordinator rather than promote Staley, who was hired by the Rams as their defensive coordinator in 2020. The Bears weren't going to make the same mistake twice with Desai. Acho said that Desai is the "spitting image" of Staley -- "brilliant defensive mind, scheme is out of this world." https://twitter.com/TheSamAcho/status/1351224116678979586?s=20
Desai was hired by Marc Trestman in 2013
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Bears fans certainly owe no thanks to former head coach Marc Trestman. But perhaps Trestman did one thing right, which was hiring Desai as a quality control assistant, where he worked with defensive backs and linebackers and assisted with special teams. Desai has survived three different coaching staffs -- Trestman, John Fox and Matt Nagy. Heck, even Fangio wanted to take Desai with him to Denver when he accepted the Broncos head coaching job in 2019, which says a lot about what this franchise thinks about him.
Desai is the first coach of Indian descent in the NFL
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The Bears promoted a rising, young star in Desai as their new defensive coordinator, which has generated a lot of excitement around the league. But Desai's hiring also broke barriers as he's believed to be the first Indian American to serve as a coordinator in the NFL. https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1352796128736063490?s=20
He's credited with helping design Fangio's defense in 2018
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Before Desai was hired as Chicago's new defensive coordinator, Acho was beating the drum for the Bears to hire him to replace Pagano. Which has a lot to do with the fact that Desai gives Chicago's defense a great chance to return to their dominant 2018 form. After all, according to Acho, Desai played a big role in helping craft Fangio's defense to the dominant unit it was back in '18. Desai has experience with the personnel, has worked in Fangio's scheme and knows how to get this defense back to top form. https://twitter.com/TheSamAcho/status/1351221553476866058?s=20
Desai has received high praise from former players
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
While it's easy to get excited about Desai's potential as new defensive coordinator from his experience working under Fangio, take it from some people that know Desai. Acho and former offensive lineman Kyle Long took to Twitter to share in their excitement about Desai being promoted to defensive coordinator, and they made it clear that he's the perfect guy for the job. https://twitter.com/TheSamAcho/status/1352742154851004417?s=20 https://twitter.com/Ky1eLong/status/1352741893952647168?s=20 https://twitter.com/Ky1eLong/status/1352751488217583616?s=20
Desai earned a doctorate in in educational administration
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Desai didn't always work in football. Before he joined the Bears in 2013, Desai worked at the collegiate level, where he also served as an adjunct professor teaching at Temple. Everyone calls Desai "Doc," which is due to the fact that he earned a doctorate in educational administration at Temple.
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