CHICAGO _ When Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano packed up his office at Halas Hall in March, he had no idea he would spend the next four months figuring out how to run a defense from his computer at home.
Like most of the rest of the world, the coronavirus pandemic forced Bears coaches to adapt to an online environment, connecting with and teaching their players from afar. Pagano will return to team facilities in late July with a new set of digital capabilities.
"From a tech standpoint, I'm off the charts for a guy that's going to be 60 in October," Pagano said. "I feel like I'm way more tech savvy than I've ever been."
Now, as Matt Nagy, Pagano and the rest of the Bears coaches prepare for a training camp unlike any they've held before, adaptability still will be key.
A whole new batch of complications awaits when they meet their players in person for the first time this year.
Coaches must enact _ and enforce _ a plan to keep players, coaches and staff safe during a pandemic. They must prepare contingency plans for game days should players get sick. They must get rookies up to speed without previous on-field work. And they must do it all through personal concerns about contracting the virus or spreading it to loved ones.
"The value on creativity and really adaptability is huge, for everybody," safeties coach Sean Desai said. "We're talking about football right now, but really everybody around the world has to adapt ... and the people that do it the fastest and quickest usually succeed and excel.
"So Coach Nagy's done a tremendous job of creating that culture of adaptability and flexibility, and our players have done a tremendous job of buying in to that. And everybody understands what it is coming into training camp. 'Hey, things will be different. We're going to get used to the different and make it our own and use those as our strengths.' Which I think we'll do."
