Former Players Call Bears O-Line Coach Juan Castillo "a Little Bit Crazy"

The Chicago Bears made plenty of moves already this offseason. One of the most interesting was the decision to fire offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. Despite the good work he did in 2018, the failures of the front five this past season convinced head coach Matt Nagy that is just wasn't the best fit. So he decided to go get somebody who is more familiar with the type of offense the Bears are trying to run in longtime veteran Juan Castillo.

This is a man who worked under the Andy Reid coaching umbrella dating back to the late 1990s. He was with Reid himself during his entire run in Philadelphia. Then he joined Reid understudy John Harbaugh in Baltimore for a number of years before spending a year with Sean McDermott in Buffalo. Reid's offensive philosophies course through his veins. So it makes perfect sense that Nagy would want him in Chicago.

With all that said, who exactly are the Bears getting? Well, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic caught up with a number of his former players. While they sang his praises as a coach, they also indicated that he is a guy who takes some getting used to. Former Eagles right tackle Jon Runyan may have put it best.

“I’ve only really been on three teams so I only had three different O-line coaches, but Juan is one where it’s repetition, repetition and repetition,” he said. “And that’s all it is. He really holds you accountable for it. He’s very good at it. But I can tell you as a player, sometimes it wears on you because it does get a little bit crazy.”

Juan Castillo won't let anything get in his way

The stories of Castillo's grinder reputation are rather legendary. One time he came out of the locker room only to get hit by a John Deere truck, crushing his knee. Rather than go to the hospital, he went to the field on crutches to work. Only after getting sent off the field to get checked out did he finally get surgery. Even then he wasn't out long.

Former Pro Bowler Tra Thomas explained that Castillo was so single-minded that he never bothered to wait until a player was in uniform to run him through drills.

“I remember coming to the Vet and Juan, as soon as I walk into the facility, he took me on the Vet turf and was like, ‘Hey, man, I wanted to go over a couple pass sets with you. Let’s work some pass sets,’” Thomas said. “I had just put my suitcases down and Juan has me on the Vet turf doing pass sets in my street clothes. He wanted to see if I could do what he was trying to get done. I think it was still dark outside and we’re out there in the middle of the Vet doing pass sets.”

While adding Castillo doesn't guarantee success, it's clear the Bears felt someone of his experience and discipline were needed. Somebody who harped on the details. Given how the offensive line was plagued with mistakes last season, this makes sense.

A little bit of crazy isn't necessarily a bad thing.