Three Names Surface For Chicago Bears Offensive Assistant Positions

The Chicago Bears cemented their new direction on offense by hiring Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator. Now, the next step is for them to help fill out the rest of his staff. The team remains without a quarterbacks coach, running backs coach, wide receivers coach, and assistant offensive line coach. Filling those spots quickly is crucial for the Bears as they prepare for the pre-draft process to start. Both the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl are right around the corner.

It appears Waldron may look to streamline the process. One common approach in the NFL when high-ranked coaches move from one location to another is bringing members of their previous staff with them. That appears to be something the new Bears coordinator may do. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bears will interview three members of Waldron's staff from Seattle. They are wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal, running backs coach Chad Morton, and assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph.

The Chicago Bears are likely following Waldron's lead.

One of the mistakes they probably made with Luke Getsy was assembling a staff around him, which mostly consisted of guys he didn't know and had never worked with. Unless something unexpected happens, that won't be the case this time. Lal is the most experienced of the three. He's been a wide receivers coach dating all the way back to 1996. He broke into the NFL with Oakland in 2007. Since then, he's earned a reputation for getting the most out of his players. Darius Heyward-Bey hit a career-high 975 yards in 2011. With Dallas, he got double 1,000-yard seasons from Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Then he did it again in Seattle with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Morton is a former Packers special teams assistant who took over the Seahawks' running backs coach job in 2017. He helped turn Chris Carson and Kenneth Walker into 1,000-yard rushers. Joseph is the interesting one. He's held a variety of jobs since hitting the coaching ranks in 2014. Before that, he was a highly successful quarterback in the Canadian Football League. He held the assistant quarterbacks coach job in Seattle.

Whether Waldron and the Chicago Bears decide to interview outside candidates remains to be seen. Word is they have eyes on a few names they also spoke to about the offensive coordinator job. Something to monitor.