Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is back in the NFL.
On Jan. 11, Pagano was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears. He will be replacing Vic Fangio, who was hired as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. Long awaited and much deserving, this will be Fangio’s first-ever head coaching job at the age of 60. Along with Fangio, outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell will also be departing the Bears and joining him in Denver.
Much of the success the Bears have had defensively each of the last two seasons can be directly attributed to the work of Fangio. The players respected him and many of them took to Twitter to congratulate him. Fangio’s 2018 Bears defense produced four defensive Pro Bowlers, Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Akiem Hicks, and Khalil Mack.
Fangio ran a 3-4 defense that featured a multitude of different coverage schemes. Relying mostly on the front three or four to apply pressure on the quarterback. He helped lead the Bears to a number one ranking in points allowed (283), points per game allowed (17.6), takeaways (36), and the number one ranking in terms of DVOA (-25.6%).
The DVOA stat was historical, good enough for 12th all-time. They also led the league in rushing yards allowed per game with 77.8. All of these numbers helped the Bears secure their first NFC North title since 2010.
So the question is, can they sustain this success following Fangio’s departure?
The Bears and Pagano held a press conference Jan. 24 introducing him to Chicago. Pagano was asked by Adam Hoge of WGN Radio about how he felt his defensive schemes and ideas fit with what has already been established.
‘”There’s a lot of carryovers and I come from a 3-4 background and system. We’re not going to try to jam square pegs into round holes,” Pagano said.
He goes on to talk about and explain how he will try to make the transition as easy as possible for the players.
This past season, Pagano took a full year off from coaching football. Instead, he spent time being an NFL consultant with officials, enjoying his time with his daughters, and the company of his wife.
He did express that he was suffering from boredom at times. Even to the extent of grabbing clean clothes and running them in and out to the washer and dryer just to give him something to do.
When asked if he had any desires of being a head coach again he said he didn’t. “just happy to get back on the grass,” Pagano said. He mentioned how he loves coaching from an X’s and O’s standpoint but doesn’t miss some of the other things that came with being a head coach. He also said that he’s motivated to help Matt Nagy along with the organization be successful and help the players grow.
It already sounds like it could be a match made in heaven between Pagano and Bears Nagy. Each of them seemed to marvel over the other when talking about their three-hour meeting prior to Pagano’s hire.
It seems like Pagano will be given full reins over the defense, allowing Nagy to focus more of his attention on the offensive side of the ball like he did this past season when Fangio was manning the defense.
The Bears also made other coaching hires, bringing in Deshea Townsend to be the defensive backs coach, and Ted Monachino to be the outside linebackers coach. Monachino and Pagano have worked together in Baltimore as well as Indianapolis.
Bears fans can expect more blitzing. Not a ton of blitzing, but more than a Fangio led defense. The Bears ranked near the bottom of the league in pass rush attempts (defined by blitzing 5 or more players on a particular play). Past Pagano ran teams haven’t blitzed an abnormal amount, but he should bring the Bears closer to the middle of the pack in attempts.
When he did blitz, Fangio was really good at disguising them. Pagano is also no stranger to disguising blitzes well. One of the things Fangio would do from time to time was blitz with a nickel cornerback. He wouldn’t blitz a whole lot with his safeties.
Certainly, the Bears have the personnel to be able to run blitzes like this. The only difference would be the names on the back of the jerseys wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Eddie Jackson might be in line to start getting some sacks.
This defense is too talented. Pagano is competent enough to not completely dismantle or ruin the amazing progress that has already been made. He seems like a really good person who will get along well with the players and other coaches.
With the knowledge the returning defensive players already have, he will be able to implement his system in a relatively smooth fashion. It helps immensely that his system is fairly similar to Fangio’s. It’ll be hard to equal or top what the Bears did last year. But with a mixture of “calculated pressure” and an insane amount of talent they could potentially do just that.
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