The Bears’ Future Rests on This One Hire… And Its Taking Longer Than Expected, But Might Be Worth the Wait
There probably has never been so much anticipation over the hiring of a Bears offensive line coach.
The reason goes beyond it being one of the last major position coach hires, although the wait is definitely making Bears fan anticipation build.
It’s an important position but the main reason it’s being so heavily scrutinized by fans is simply the failure of the offensive line to adequately protect quarterbacks over the last three seasons since Chris Morgan was coordinator.
They get the bulk of he blame, either way. Their function in the passing game is to protect Williams. He has enough to worry about without looking over his shoulder or running for his life.
The known candidates list makes it clear one offensive line coach especially should be considered a favorite and that’s Tulane offensive line coach Dan Roushar. He is considered the favorite over two line coaches for the teams involved in the NCAA title game, Ohio State’s Justin Frye and Notre Dame’s Joe Rudolph.
While both Rudolph and Frye are definitely qualified to move into the NFL, it’s Roushar’s NFL experience that makes him a favorite and it is a link he has with several other coaches on the staff, like offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
He was the Saints’ offensive line coach when they had Pro Bowl players like Larry Warford, Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat and Max Unger.
Any of the three would be outstanding choices, though. It’s quite likely they’ll be relying on some inexperience offensive linemen taken toward the top of the draft. So finding a line coach who also was excellent at teaching is key. Both Rudolph and Frye obviously have this as strengths, but so does Roushar because he had 27 seasons of college coaching experience before he started coaching for the Saints, including stints at Northern Illinois and Illinois.
