Bears expected to keep at least one of their coaches |
It has been a whirlwind 72 hours for the Chicago Bears. With Ben Johnson being hired as their next head coach to him having his introductory press conference, a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff has gone unnoticed, which is also a massive part of this team.
Part of becoming a new head coach for a team is figuring out how to build not only a staff but what some would call a winning staff to put you in a position to have the most success. Guys like Dennis Allen and Darren Rizzi were the first two assistants linked to the Bears, but with Allen still pursuing his options and Rizzi now expected to take the Denver Broncos Special Teams job, Johnson is again back to the drawing board. One way to take care of a few openings is to potentially retain a few coaches from the last regime, with Richard Hightower being one of them. According to reports, with Rizzi now off the table and heading to Denver, the Bears are expected to retain Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower, as he would hold the same position on Johnson's staff. Part of the Bears coaching staff the past few seasons, Hightower is one of the few coaches who remained on the staff from start to finish and has earned enough respect to remain on the staff with the new regime. Although the Bears special teams were ranked 20th a season ago, a lot of that wasn't on Hightower as Cairo Santos had an issue with blocked kicks. Most of that stemmed from an offensive line that couldn't hold a block for more than two seconds, but when they did block, Santos was excellent, as was Tory Taylor, who emerged as one of the best punters in the game last season. Ever since taking the Bears job, Johnson preached about building not only a strong staff but an experienced one at that. He is taking that to heart as Hightower has plenty of NFL experience and experience working inside the Bears organization. Yes, changes are needed throughout the coaching staff, but having at least one coordinator retained will give this team a little bit of continuity, which can't be overlooked. When you look at who Matt Eberflus brought in as his assistants, Hightower is the only one who seems safe, as Thomas Brown, Chris Beatty, Eric Washington, and Kerry Joseph have all been relieved of their duties. Hightower was initially on that list as well, but given the developing situation with Rizzi, it appears that Johnson has had a change of heart and is willing to let Hightower run Special Teams again. In an era where offense is king, it always comes down to which team has the better defense when winning championships. However, Special Teams are equally as important as the offense and defense. A good Special teams unit not only flips the field to help the defense but can also win you games if you have a great kicking unit. On the flip side, it can also lose you games when things don't go right, which the Bears found out firsthand on several occasions last season. Whether or not Hightower remains on the staff beyond next season remains to be seen, but at the very least, Johnson is putting faith in at least one of the few coaches from the last regime. That can be seen as a sign of respect, as Hightower was one of the more respected coaches during the Eberflus era and appeared to have the respect of Johnson and trust within the organization. That, ultimately, is the most critical part of being a coach in this league. Yes, you need to have the knowledge and understanding of the task at hand, but you need to have the trust within the players and the organization that you're doing things the right way. Hightower is one of those coaches with that trust, and hopefully, with a few tweaks on the offensive line, their special teams unit can take things to the next level.
