The Chicago Bears made an incredible in-house hire for their defensive coordinator position and made history in the process.
The Chicago Bears have hired Sean Desai as their defensive coordinator, making Desai the first person of Indian descent hired to a coordinator position in the NFL. The news comes shortly after the Jets hired their head coach Robert Saleh, making him the first Muslim head coach in NFL history.
Big move for the #Bears: Chicago is hiring Sean Desai to be its new defensive coordinator, sources say. To my knowledge, the first person of Indian descent to become a coordinator in the NFL. They call him “Doc” for his doctorate at Temple, now they’ll also call him DC.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 22, 2021
Desai is an internal hire for the Bears, having spent the last eight seasons with the team, most recently in a role as a safeties coach for the last two seasons. Prior to that Desai was in a quality control assistant role with the Bears linebackers and defensive backs from 2013-2018.
His collegiate experience comes from time spent at Boston College as running backs and special teams coach. He also has experience with the University of Miami and Temple in preparation for the defensive coordinator role he’s now in with the Chicago Bears.
While quarterback is the main priority for them, Chicago’s defensive line and offensive skill positions still need attention as far as coaching goes. It looks like they’re choosing to trust someone who has been a part of the organization for quite some time. Desai was an aid to Vic Fangio and has helped to build the Bears’ defense to what it is today.
Former Chicago Bears Kyle Long and Sam Acho took to Twitter to announce their support for Desai.
Desai is the man – my rookie year he drew the cards for the scout defense i believe. He then ran scout meetings – worked his way up. Always the same guy too
— Kyle (@Ky1eLong) January 22, 2021
HUGE hire for the Chicago Bears. Congrats to Sean Desai on becoming the next Bears Defensive Coordinator. They’ve got some holes fill at D line coach and offensive skill coaches, but this is a step in the right direction. Expect more of what you saw in 2018 but w/ his own flavor
— Sam Acho (@TheSamAcho) January 22, 2021
This seems to be a step in the right direction for Chicago.