The Chicago Bears hired Harry Hiestand to become their new offensive line coach. His primary job was to get the unit playing better in all facets. However, it was obvious the endgame was to make sure Mitch Trubisky was better protected moving forward. The less he sees pressure in his face, the better he’s almost certain to play in the short and long-term.
Hiestand has plenty of credibility in this area both from his first stint with the Bears back in the mid-2000s and during his long tenure at Notre Dame. That said, it’s not his specialty. If one were to follow the trends, Hiestand is actually an aficionado when it comes to run blocking. Not only have all his lines done it well, they’re routinely among the best.
Thomas Jones and Matt Forte both produced their first career 1,000-yard seasons under Hiestand’s watch. Notre Dame was also 7th in rushing last season in all of college football. So yes, Trubisky should benefit from his arrival but the man who should be most excited about Hiestand’s hiring is running back Jordan Howard.
Harry Hiestand has the horses to make Jordan Howard a monster
We already know that Howard is a top back in the NFL. He’s proven it by finishing second and sixth in rushing each of the past two years. At 23-years old he’s still just scratching the surface of what he could be. All he needs is a capable front to give him the lanes to do his thing. Last year was a difficult time though.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
The Bears offensive line was handcuffed by often poor scheming by the coaches and also having to face constant eight or nine-man boxes. So how in the world were they able to still get Howard over 1,100 yards? The simple answer is they have an array of hog who excel in the ground game. Four of the five projected starters for this season had high run blocking grades last year according to Pro Football Focus.
- Charles Leno Jr: 82.3
- James Daniels: 89.1 (college)
- Cody Whitehair: 81.8
- Kyle Long: 76.6
- Bobby Massie: 67.2
Keep in mind injuries also factored into the equation. Kyle Long was suffering from a multitude of issues, as evidenced by the three separate surgeries he had this offseason. For him to still grade out that well is indicative of how talented he is. The big surprise was Massie. For a man of his size and power, his grade is surprisingly low. That’s likely something Hiestand will be able to help with.
If the boxes empty out as expected while at the same time the efficiency of these grades improves? There’s no telling how big of a rampage Howard may go on this year.
