It was clear Matt Nagy wanted somebody with a bit more credibility running his quarterback room this year. That is why the Chicago Bears head coach "promoted" Dave Ragone to passing game coordinator and made John DeFilippo the new quarterbacks coach. While the man has an uneven reputation as an offensive coordinator, nobody can dispute his excellent work with QBs. He turned Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate in 2017, then turned Nick Foles into a Super Bowl MVP.
Kirk Cousins has the most passing touchdowns and highest completion percentage of his career under him in 2018. Then Gardner Minshew, a 6th round pick, finished with a 91.2 passer rating in 12 starts as a rookie last year for Jacksonville. So it's little wonder the Bears targeted him. Perhaps he might have the magic touch that can finally get Mitch Trubisky pointed in the right direction.
DeFilippo has already had a chance to talk with his new quarterback.
He's also evaluated the tape from 2019. It didn't take long for him to reach some notable conclusions. He emphasized two key areas. One is that Trubisky has to embrace the "quarterback lifestyle." That means living, breathing, eating, and sleeping football. On top of that, DeFilippo noted that he'll have to stay on the QB about his footwork. This was a big problem that haunted him a lot last season, leading to way too many missed throws.
Trubisky seems to have embraced the John DeFilippo challenge
Anybody who has kept tabs on Trubisky knows the quarterback isn't using the offseason for fun. Any videos that have surfaced of him tend to be the same. Working out with various teammates doing their own practice drills. Something that is necessary since coaches are forbidden from having contact with players yet. So already the guy is embracing the ceaseless hard work and active leadership necessary to improve.
The interesting part is what will happen when he and DeFilippo finally get together. Nick Foles has already worked with the quarterbacks coach multiple times. He knows what to expect. Trubisky does not. DeFilippo has a reputation for being demanding and detail-oriented. He coaches hard. Mostly because he knows it's necessary. How the 25-year old absorbs and applies that coaching will prove crucial to his NFL future.
