The Bears finished their defensive coordinator search right where it began by circling back to impressive in-house candidate Sean Desai. The team will promote him to replace retired coordinator Chuck Pagano, a source said.
Desai was their safeties coach the last two seasons and has been part of the organization since 2013, staying on through multiple coaching changes. His most notable boss was former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and Desai’s task is to get the defense back where Fangio left it.
The Bears had the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL under Fangio in 2018 and had a league-high 36 takeaways — the second-most by any team in the last five seasons.
With much of the same personnel in place, the Bears declined the last two seasons under Pagano. They were 14th in scoring defense this season and their dreams of a dominant pass rush delivering loads of takeaways never materialized. One of Desai’s top priorities will be making certain the Bears get their money’s worth out of a huge pass-rush investment in Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Robert Quinn. The Bears were 17th in sacks and 25th in takeaways.
Desai, 37, got his coaching start at Temple, where he earned a doctorate in educational administration. He was an assistant at major college football programs before joining the Bears as a quality control assistant in 2013. He held that job for six years before becoming their safeties coach when Pagano arrived in 2019.
The Bears started their search by interviewing Desai and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers and spoke with several outside candidates before deciding Desai gave them the best chance at restoring the defense from good to great.
