Jan. 28--At first glance, the Bears' latest coaching announcement may not seem like a landmark move.
On Tuesday, the team announced it would retain assistant coach Clint Hurtt, who had been an assistant defensive line coach under Marc Trestman last season and now will work as the outside linebackers coach for John Fox.
But Hurtt's role change signals a more significant overhaul of the Bears' defense, the latest pointer that the team will be revamping its system in 2015 and readying to transition away from its traditional 4-3 roots.
Last week, the Bears hired Glenn Pires to be their new linebackers coach. By keeping Hurtt on board as the outside linebackers coach, a position most often utilized by teams that run some form of a 3-4 defense, the Bears have begun to make noteworthy system alterations.
Fox, at his introductory news conference last week, wouldn't say what kind of defensive system he preferred to install, noting only that he planned to be adaptable to the players on his roster. But the Bears' hiring of Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator pushed them closer toward a major defensive change.
Fangio, who spent the past four seasons as the San Francisco 49ers' coordinator, is known for running a 3-4 defense and seems likely to stay near that path in Chicago. That's not to say the Bears will abandon the 4-3 completely; they're more likely to install some form of hybrid defense that will allow them to be more unpredictable.
Fox, it's worth noting, preferred a 4-3 front during his four seasons as coach of the Broncos but also utilized a system with hybrid looks.
At the very least, the system change with the Bears also will require a major transition in the way new general manager Ryan Pace builds and fortifies the team's roster.
As January comes to a close, the Bears have made major changes this month within their front office and coaching staff and the ripple effect now seems to have the team readying for on-field philosophy changes as well.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
Twitter @danwiederer
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