A lot of people are worried about the stated of the Chicago Bears coaching staff. That’s no surprise. Such things happen when there’s a lot of sudden changes. Especially after such a good season. Vic Fangio is gone and he’s taken several of his assistants with him. That includes secondary coach Ed Donatell, the mastermind behind All-Pros Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller. How in the world can Chuck Pagano deal with such a loss?
After all, he hasn’t been coaching in the league since the end of 2017. He only held a defensive coordinator job for one year and that was seven years ago. There is plenty to worry about in regards to whether he can even keep the Bears defense as good as it is. Nevermind trying to make it better. Except things are never that cut and dry.
Pagano is no stranger to getting instant results upon arrival at a new job. Nowhere tells this reality more than his impact on how effectively teams play pass defense.
Chuck Pagano pass defense prowess has been consistent going back decades
The essence of defense in the modern NFL is how well you can frustrate the opposing quarterback. The less comfortable they are, the better the odds of winning the game. Put it this way. Of the four QBs participating in the conference championship games this year, two rank in the top three for passer rating this postseason. Last year? Nick Foles ranked 3rd and Tom Brady 5th respectively.
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In the past 10 years, the team with the #1 pass defense in the league reached at least the conference championship game six times. Three of them won the Super Bowl. That’s why having somebody like Pagano in charge could be so huge for Chicago. He has a reputation for improving pass defense play wherever he goes.
- 2000 Browns – 12th pass defense
- 2001 Browns – 10th pass defense*
- 2004 Raiders – 30th pass defense
- 2005 Raiders – 18th pass defense*
- 2007 Ravens – 20th pass defense
- 2008 Ravens – 2nd pass defense*
- 2012 Colts – 21st pass defense
- 2013 Colts – 13th pass defense*
Some people will be confused by the last two on the list since Pagano was the head coach of both teams. The reason is he missed all but four games during that season due to his leukemia diagnosis. He wasn’t able to put his full attention on the pass defense as a result. When he was finally able to the next year in 2013? The customary improvement arrived.
The Bears defense was excellent in 2018, but they had certain vulnerabilities. While they were #1 against the run, they were 7th against the pass. That’s still really good, but it proved that there were instances throughout the season where strong passing teams could find ways to take advantage of them.
It’s not a coincidence that four of their five losses of the season involved the four highest passing games they allowed against Green Bay, New England, Miami, and Philadelphia. There is room for improvement and Pagano is the exact man they could’ve hoped to get it out of them.
