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The Chicago Bears have officially began their search for recently-retired defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano’s replacement. As first reported by Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, the Bears have put in a request to interview current Indianapolis defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon for their vacant DC role.
While Chicago’s defensive line coach Jay Rodgers and safeties coach Sean Desai are said to be top internal candidates, Gannon is the first name outside of the current coaching staff the team is slated to interview.
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What Experience Does Gannon Have?
Gannon began coaching as a volunteer assistant at Louisville in 2003, and he has steadily worked his way up the ladder ever since. He moved up to the pros in 2007, where he has coached various positions on the defensive side of the ball and worked as a scout over the last 13+ years.
Here’s a look at Gannon’s resumé, per the Colts official team website:
- 2003-2005 Louisville Volunteer Student Assistant
- 2006 Louisville Graduate Assistant
- 2007 Atlanta Falcons Defensive Assistant/Quality Control Coach
- 2009-2011 St. Louis Rams Scout
- 2012-2013 Tennessee Titans Defensive Assistant/Quality Control Coach
- 2014-2017 Minnesota Vikings Assistant Defensive Backs/Quality Control Coach
- 2018-2020 Indianapolis Colts Defensive Backs/Cornerbacks Coach
During his tenure with the Vikings, his units finished 7th in the league in passing defense in 2014 (they allowed 223.3 yards per game), 12th in 2015 (234.9 ypg), 3rd in 2016 (207.9 ypg) and 2nd in 2017 (192.4 ypg). Gannon went over to Indy in 2018 to join head coach Frank Reich’s staff, where his defensive backs allowed an average of 237.8 yards a game in 2018, 248.9 yards a game in 2019 and 241.6 yards a game this season.
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Matt Nagy Promises a ‘Very Thorough’ Search for Team’s Next DC
“As far as the next defensive coordinator and working toward that, as you all know that process, for me and for us in this building, is something that we obviously take very seriously and it’s going to be very thorough,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said during the team’s year-end press conference.
“In my short career as a head coach, I’ve learned a lot of different things as I grow. One of them is, you’re put in this role to make decisions with the hires and the fires. So right now in this time with Chuck leaving and retiring, this is going to be a very important hire. We have a lot of great guys internally on staff and obviously people outside as well, so that’s a big process. I look forward to it and I think that we’ll get on that here ASAP,” Nagy said.
While Gannon is the first external candidate the team has requested to talk with, he won’t be the last. The Bears are surely going to take a close look at Rodgers and Desai, the latter of whom former Chicago defender Sam Acho made a case for on Twitter Monday:
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