With Chuck Pagano retiring, here are 11 candidates for Bears defensive coordinator

Chuck Pagano gave his notice to Bears coach Matt Nagy on Tuesday morning. At age 60, the veteran coach and cancer survivor is calling it a career in order to spend more time with his family. The former Indianapolis Colts head coach spent the past two seasons as Bears defensive coordinator.

“Thank you to Coach Pagano,” Nagy said Wednesday. “When you sit back and you realize what this man has been through and what he’s done for this league, and what he’s done for so many coaches in this league, including myself, and what we’ve learned from him not just as a coach but as a person, this guy’s been through it all.”

With Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace secure in their jobs for at least one more season, the attention turns toward what is next. Hiring a new defensive coordinator is item No. 1 on the to-do list.

Nagy will look both internally, at the defensive coaches the Bears have on staff, and externally around the league. With Nagy’s job likely on the line next season, it could be hard to lure an external candidate to take the job without knowing who the boss will be beyond 2021. Even so, defensive coordinator in the NFL is a highly desirable job. There should be plenty of interested parties.

Here are some candidates he could look toward.

They’ve been there before

James Bettcher, former Cardinals and Giants defensive coordinator

The Bears reportedly were interested in Bettcher in January 2018 when they hired Nagy, until they persuaded defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to stay in Chicago. Bettcher was the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2017 and for the New York Giants in 2018 and 2019. With a regime change in New York, Bettcher found himself out of a job. He took the 2020 season off, but according to an ESPN report, he spent his time studying the game and is hoping for another coordinator job.

Joe Barry, Rams assistant head coach/linebackers coach

Barry has worked under Rams head coach Sean McVay since 2017. He has defensive coordinator experience with Washington in 2015 and 2016. Those defenses weren’t particularly good, but the 2015 team did reach the postseason. The 2020 Rams defense, however, has been impressive. Barry should be a popular defensive coordinator candidate, but his candidacy won’t heat up in full until the Rams’ postseason run is over.

Raheem Morris, former Falcons interim head coach/defensive coordinator

The caveat here is that Morris has interviewed for head coaching positions and could be a serious contender. That being said, if Morris doesn’t land a head coaching gig, he’s a shoe-in for a defensive coordinator position. Morris served in various roles under former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, including defensive coordinator in 2020 before Quinn was fired. Morris was a head coach from 2009 to 2011 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Matt Burke, Eagles defensive run-game coordinator/defensive line coach

With Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson out the door, all Eagles assistant coaches are in limbo. That could mean Burke is looking for a new job. Pederson reportedly wanted to promote Burke to defensive coordinator before he was ousted. Burke was a defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Kris Richard, former Seahawks defensive coordinator, Cowboys defensive backs coach

Richard won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks as the defensive backs coach, guiding the now legendary Legion of Boom secondary. He later served as Seahawks defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2017. Richard spent the past year out of coaching but appears ready to get back into the game. He interviewed for the Raiders’ defensive coordinator position this week.

The internal candidates

Ted Monachino, Bears outside linebackers coach

Monachino is the only Bears defensive coach with NFL defensive coordinator experience. He served as the defensive coordinator under Pagano during the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He spent the past two seasons as a senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach with the Bears. He dealt directly with Khalil Mack, Leonard Floyd and Robert Quinn, among others. He also was a linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens from 2010 to 2015, where he won a Super Bowl. As far as internal candidates, Monachino has the most experience.

Jay Rodgers, Bears defensive line coach

Rodgers has been in his current position for six seasons, which is saying something in today’s NFL. He’s helped numerous Bears defensive linemen blossom: Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Roy Robertson-Harris, Nick Williams and Bilal Nichols. Every year it seems as if the Bears have a solid defensive line and at least one player who goes from relative obscurity to a big contract. A former college quarterback at Indiana, Rodgers has a well-rounded knowledge of the game and even coached quarterbacks and receivers at the college level.

Sean Desai, Bears safeties coach

The Bears reportedly blocked Vic Fangio from stealing Desai, a 37-year-old up-and-coming coach, a couple of years ago when Fangio left for Denver. Desai has worked for the Bears since 2013, first as quality control assistant from 2013 to 2018, and for the past two years as safeties coach. At age 27 in 2010, he served as Temple’s special teams coordinator and later served the same role at Boston College. Desai seems to know his stuff, too. For two years during his stint at Temple, he served as an adjunct professor teaching in the master’s and doctoral programs in education administration.

Up-and-comers elsewhere

Aaron Glenn, Saints defensive backs coach

Glenn played in the NFL for 15 seasons and was an All-Pro cornerback three times. He interviewed this week for the head coaching job with the New York Jets. Glenn has served as defensive backs coach under Sean Payton in New Orleans since 2016 and never has been an NFL coordinator.

DeMeco Ryans, 49ers inside linebackers coach

The general train of thought is that if 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh takes a head coaching job somewhere, Ryans is the most logical internal hire for defensive coordinator in San Francisco. Ryans has coached with the 49ers since 2017 and spent 10 years playing linebacker in the NFL before that.

Jerod Mayo, Patriots inside linebackers coach

Mayo is short on coaching experience – only two years as an inside linebackers coach in New England. That hasn’t stopped him from getting a head coaching interview with the Eagles. Although he might lack coaching experience, he makes up for it with his eight years of NFL playing experience. The two-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots is a former All-Pro linebacker and the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He has spent his entire NFL playing and coaching career in New England.