Former Bears LB Sam Acho makes his case for Sean Desai as defensive coordinator

The Chicago Bears have one glaring vacancy on their coaching staff and a former player knows just the person to fill it.

Former Bears outside linebacker Sam Acho took to Twitter Monday and voiced his support for safeties coach Sean Desai, urging the team to hire him as the next defensive coordinator following the retirement of Chuck Pagano.

Acho, who played for the Bears from 2015-2018, says Desai “has been ready for that role for years” in a tweet. “[Desai] was Vic Fangio’s right hand man for 4 years and helped craft that defense to greatness. Smart, talented, knows ball and has all the credentials. All he needs is an opportunity.”

The former Bear continued to praise Desai, calling him “a splitting image of Brandon Staley,” who was Acho’s position coach with the Bears from 2017-2018. Staley went on to coach the Denver Broncos outside linebackers in 2019, then became the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator this past season and was just named the Los Angeles Chargers head coach on Sunday evening.

Acho then explained Desai would be the one to get the defense back to their 2018 form.

Desai has been a part of the Bears coaching staff since 2013, when he was hired as the team’s quality control assistant. He worked with the secondary while also contributing to special teams. He held that title until the 2019 season, when he was promoted to safeties coach. Prior to his time with the Bears, Desai was in the college ranks, serving various roles with Temple, the University of Miami, and Boston College.

Acho’s recommendation for Desai comes just days after an NFL Network report indicated Desai and Bears defensive line coach Jay Rodgers were the top internal candidates for the coordinator position. Rodgers, who has also been with the Bears for a number of years, could be a candidate to join Staley in Los Angeles as their defensive coordinator.

With coaching vacancies opening and closing quickly, the Bears need to move fast to find their new coordinator. They’re looking outside the organization too as Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports the team has requested to interview Indianapolis Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon for the open position. If it were up to Acho, however, they should stick with their own secondary coach and give Desai the job.

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