Vic Fangio departed the Chicago Bears organization two days ago through accepting the head coach position with the Denver Broncos, leaving the Bears with a vacancy at their defensive coordinator position. Much like last year when the Bears were looking for a head coach, the team acted fast hiring Chuck Pagano to be Fangio’s successor, per a statement by Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy.
In Pagano, the Bears have a DC who has experience running 3-4 defenses and has 16 years of NFL coaching experience. He worked as the Baltimore Ravens defensive backs coach from 2008-10, Ravens defensive coordinator in 2011 and most recently Pagano was the Indianapolis Colts head coach from 2012-17. While he was not coaching last year Pagano stayed involved with football serving as an NFL consultant.
In Pagano’s lone season as defensive coordinator of the Ravens in 2011, the Ravens ranked third in total yards allowed (4,622), third in points allowed per game (16.6), fourth in passing yards per game (196.3), second in rushing yards per game (92.6), and third in sacks (48) on their way to an AFC North championship and a 12-4 record. Much like the Bears under Fangio, the 2011 Ravens ran a hybrid defense that was based in a 3-4 scheme allowing for versatility in sub packages. This should come as great news for Bears fans,over the past few seasons GM Ryan Pace has acquired players with a 3-4 scheme in mind. Those players have thrived and would be best utilized in the same scheme moving forward.
Another silver lining for Bears fans is Pagano should be able to fill a similar role to Fangio in the sense that he can take over the defense with minimal head coach intervention. This will allow Nagy to worry about the continued development of his offense and starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky who took huge steps in year one. With the defense in capable hands, Nagy can keep his complex offense a top priority without having to divert his attention to bringing along a younger and less experienced coach.
Pagano can also help Nagy with insight into the head coaching position thanks to his time holding the same position with the Colts. I do not know much of Pagano’s ability to manage the clock in Indianapolis but Nagy did have some problems doing so in his rookie season with the Bears and some of Pagano’s experiences could help Nagy in his own development.
The Bears got their guy and on paper he seems like the right guy. Plenty of experience, knows a 3-4 hybrid scheme and has had NFL success. Fangio will absolutely be missed but the hiring of Pagano should ease the pain and the minds of Bears fans.