If Bears Want the Best Strength Coach These Are the Names to Hunt

There's a reason fans have been so fascinated by the Chicago Bears strength and conditioning coach position over the past couple years. It's because the team continues to be ravaged by injuries. Not just the season-ending variety. Too often there were a number of preventable soft tissue problems for several players that became a plague. Just in the past two years the Bears have had 40 players end up on injured reserve. That's not counting multiple games missed for other nagging injuries. This is something the team has tried to get under control but thus far without success. So according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune they've decided to start fresh. Head strength coach Jason George was fired.

This presents head coach Matt Nagy with a golden opportunity. He has a chance to do what Lovie Smith did back in 2005. That's seek out the best possible options around the league and hopefully bring one of them to Chicago. In a results-based business here are a few names that the Bears would be foolish not to pursue.

Tom Myslinski

Only now have people gained a proper appreciation for Myslinski's work now that the Jacksonville Jaguars are in the AFC championship game. A former NFL offensive lineman, he's held his position since 2012. Success didn't only just arrive for him though. He's quietly been one of the best trainers in the league for years. The Cleveland Browns had their best season since being reinstated as a franchise in 1999 when they went 10-6 in 2007. That was his first year as their head strength coach. It's clear the man can pull results even from the most hapless organizations.

Joe Kenn

The Carolina Panthers have enjoyed their greatest run of sustained success in franchise history since 2011. Most will credit the arrival of Cam Newton for that, but that was also the same year Joe Kenn took over their training facility. Winner of multiple national Strength and Conditioning Coach awards at both the NFL and college levels, Kenn has consistently produced top quality talent on the field. Carolina has made the playoffs four of the past five years including a Super Bowl berth in 2015.

Garrett Giemont

If one wants to be among the best organizations in the NFL, a smart idea is to steal from the best. The Pittsburgh Steelers remain the gold standard in the league and a big reason why is the efforts of Garrett Giemont. He's been their strength coach since 2007. During that time they reached two Super Bowls and won a Lombardi trophy while making the playoffs eight times. Before that he was in command of the same job in Oakland where would transform into an AFC contender, making three-straight playoff trips from 2000 to 2002 including a Super Bowl run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3oNYoe-rL4

Mike Woicik

One might call him the Godfather of NFL strength and condition coaching. Mike Woicik certainly has the rings to prove it. He's the only coach at his position who was a primary driving force in not one but two dynasty teams. His efforts helped propel the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s to three Super Bowl championships in four years. Then the New England Patriots brought him aboard and promptly did the same thing from 2001 to 2004. Woicik has six rings to date. He's back running the Cowboys facility at present since 2011. During that time they've posted a losing record just once.