People say the Chicago Bears roster will be key to them winning a Super Bowl some time in the future. That’s true, but also only half the equation. Too often they haven’t realized that the Bears coaching staff is every bit as important to success. Thankfully the arrival of John Fox has brought that desire to the forefront. Despite some recent turnover, the Bears staff remains loaded with a nice mix of young and veteran coaching minds.
Many of them already accomplished. That hasn’t stopped Fox from continuing to seek out new faces who can help this team get better. It’s one of the hallmarks that made him successful in the past: an ability to spot coaching talent. Ever so quietly he may have gotten another good one for the Bears this past week.
According to their official training camp breakdown, the team will have three coaching interns at training camp. One for each of the phases.
#Bears have three coaching interns for training camp: Todd Washington (offense), Kevin Vickerson (defense) and Matt Willis (special teams).
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) July 26, 2017
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Bears coaching staff adding some interesting flavors
Those three names won’t mean much to Bears fans. Some context will be needed. Matt Willis is a former wide receiver, recently cut by the Detroit Lions. Before that he spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos. Though never much of an offensive weapon, he earned a reputation for being a quality special teams player. So it’s no surprise his step towards coaching begins with that side of the ball.
Kevin Vickerson is a former defensive tackle who had a journeyman career. Four of his years were spent in Denver, three of them under Fox. During that time he earned a reputation for two things: attitude and run defense. Vickerson had a way of getting opponents angry at him while also suffocating their ground attacks. Two elements that could be a big help to the Bears defense, which has struggled in the latter area particularly.
The big name of the three though is Todd Washington. From 2011 to 2016, he was the assistant offensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens. During that time the offense rank top 10 in scoring twice and developed Pro Bowlers like Ben Grubbs, Kelechi Osemele and Marshal Yanda. On top of that they won the Super Bowl in 2012.
#TeachTapeTuesday featuring #Ravens OG Marshal Yanda showing lateral quickness, targeting, & hand usage to cut-off the backside on OZ: pic.twitter.com/FDL50WE2bl
— The Scouting Academy (@TheScoutAcademy) February 22, 2017
Only 70 Days until the NFL Season!
My Top 3 #70's:
1. Kelechi Osemele (video)
2. Zach Martin
3. Kevin Zeitler#99Players99Days #Raiders #NFL pic.twitter.com/pl7e9hSXee— Daniel Fitzgerald (@nflpicksfitz) June 29, 2017
Washington also played guard and center for eight years in the NFL himself. The experience he brings to the table could be immensely valuable. Not just in training camp either. If the Bears are smart they might want to find him a permanent job on their staff. As the saying goes there is no such thing as too much talent on a team. Or a staff in this case.
