Proof the Chicago Bears Training Staff Has a Hand in Injury Epidemic

The Chicago Bears training staff never gets much attention. That's just the nature of their jobs. Not being in front of the cameras can make them an afterthought at times. However, their importance to the organization cannot be understated, particularly the head man in charge. That being the strength and conditioning coach. Their job is simple, but it's far from easy. For those who aren't sure what exactly they do, here's a quick definition.

"A strength and conditioning coach is a fitness and physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription specifically, but not limited, to improve the performance of competitive athletes."

Pretty straightforward, but that belies how difficult the job is in reality. One of the most unheralded parts is injury prevention. Preparation for a physical sport like football is not easy and like head coaching or quarterbacking there are only a select few men and women who can do it with consistent success. The Bears are finding that out the hard way as their team is once again ravaged by injuries. This is something that has dogged them the past few years and it can be traced back to one key loss on their staff. (continue to next page)

Chicago Bears training staff was never the same after Rusty Jones left

Through week five of the 2017 season the Bears already have nine players on injured reserve. Six of those players were starters on opening day this season. Meanwhile the Green Bay Packers, who lead the division only have six players on IR and none of them are starters. People talk about Aaron Rodgers, which is fair but good health to key players is also a reason they've owned the division for so long. In fact the Bears' run of success in the NFC came to an end right around the same time they lost strength and conditioning coach Rusty Jones. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune he was a vital component to the teams' success during the height of the Lovie Smith era from 2005 to 2012.

"The Bears certainly got much healthier beginning in 2005 when Jones was hired as the strength and conditioning coach and he proved to be a guy that was revered by players before retiring after the 2012 season when coach Lovie Smith was fired and Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery brought in a new staff. Remember, Jones came in a year after the Bears had major problems with hamstring pulls. That changed pretty quickly. As my former colleague Dan Pompei noted in a 2013 column on Jones, in the five years before Jones’ arrival, the Bears ranked 31^st in the NFL in missed games by starters, according to the Dallas Morning News. Under Jones, they ranked ninth."

Nothing is more critical to success or failure in the NFL than health

Put it this way. In 2012 when the Bears went 10-6, they had just seven players end up on injured reserve. Only three of them were starters. A year later when Jones left they lost six to IR but all six of them were starters. In 2014? The number spiked to 11 and then 12 in 2015. By last year things hit rock bottom with 21 players on injured reserve. Five games into this season it's at nine. With all due respect to current strength and conditioning coach Jason George, he hasn't done his job. It's high time the Bears found somebody who can. That or beg Jones to come out of retirement because they can't hope to win until this problem is curtailed.