Chicago Bears: 3 key things to know about John DeFilippo
By Ryan Heckman
2. He may influence run game
DeFilippo has worked with several mediocre quarterbacks during his time in the NFL. One of the interesting aspects of the teams he has coached with is the fact that there have been some strong rushing attacks involved.
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In 2005, as the New York Giants’ quarterbacks coach, he helped Eli Manning to a 24 touchdown campaign but the offense also saw Tiki Barber rush for 1,860 yards. Barber also had 54 receptions that season.
The 2007 Oakland Raiders were a train wreck at quarterback, with Josh McCown, Daunte Culpepper and JaMarcus Russell all starting games at some point. However, that offense also saw Justin Fargas, of all players, rush for over 1,000 yards.
With the 2009 New York Jets, DeFilippo handled Mark Sanchez during his rookie season. While Sanchez struggled that year, his offense benefited from Thomas Jones who ran for over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Fast forward a little bit and let’s highlight the Super Bowl victory with the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles. DeFilippo, once again the quarterbacks coach, saw his backup in Nick Foles win it all. That year, though, the offense went running back by committee and posted 132.2 rushing yards per game.
What’s the moral of the story? DeFilippo may not coach running backs, but he has seen how a strong rushing attack can benefit the commonplace quarterback. In Chicago, that is certainly going to have to be the case with Mitchell Trubisky.