Chicago Bears Add Interesting Assistant Coach To Training Camp Staff

Most Chicago Bears fans don’t pay attention whenever the team announces a series of assistant coaches they’ve brought aboard via the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. It is a system designed to help give minority coaches a pipeline into the league. It might seem like a small thing to fans, but the program has yielded huge results over the years. Former Bears head coach Lovie Smith was a graduate of the program, as was Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

Current Bears wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert is another graduate. So if any organization has an appreciation for what the program can offer, it’s Chicago. That would explain why they announced the hiring of six new assistants for training camp according to Larry Mayer of Chicagobears.com. All but one of them comes from smaller college programs. So no doubt they see this as maybe their best chance to get noticed by the big league.

“The six coaches joining the Bears are Roosevelt Williams (Hardin-Simmons), Dominic Anderson (Fayetteville State), Na’Shan Goddard (South Carolina State), Kefense Hynson (Oregon State), Ken Merchant (Pace University) and Milton Patterson (Florida A&M).”

For those asking, yes there is somebody of note in that group.

Dominic Anderson deserves some immediate attention. His defense at Fayetteville State was outstanding last season, allowing 12.5 points per game. They had ten interceptions in ten games and collected 44 sacks. His efforts played a pivotal role in cornerback Joshua Williams becoming the first player to get drafted from the program last April since 1976. He went to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 4th round.

Chicago Bears were smart to give Anderson a closer look.

He has a strong track record of success wherever he goes as a coach. Taking a program over in his first season and having the defense scored on almost a full touchdown less than the previous one is hard to ignore. This is somebody to keep an eye on. He might be able to offer something down the road if he makes a positive impression over the next two months. Having a deep background in defensive backs should only endear him to defensive coordinator Alan Williams.

There is no such thing as too many quality coaches on a staff. People always talk about the players when discussing that 2006 Chicago Bears team. They forget how stacked that coaching staff was too. Two assistants (Ron Rivera and Steve Wilks) became head coaches and a third (Harold Goodwin) became a longtime offensive coordinator. Quality assistants matter. Anderson looks like somebody that can become a future asset to the organization.