Chicago Bears: Sneaky defensive coordinator candidates to replace Pagano
By Ryan Heckman
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator candidate: Matt Burke
The Philadelphia Eagles franchise is definitely in flux, but one of the consistencies over the last couple of years has been Matt Burke, who coached the Eagles’ defensive line in 2020 and was a defensive assistant for the team in 2019.
Burke also has experience as an NFL defensive coordinator, although his years in Miami were tough as the team flat-out stunk and Burke was under the tutelage of Adam Gase. In Philadelphia though, Burke has been part of one of the shining aspects of this Eagles team that’s going through a tough time after this last season.
Doug Pederson was fired and the team officially has a quarterback controversy with Carson Wentz stating he’ll want out if Jalen Hurts continues as the starter. Nonetheless, Burke is a standout among the chaos.
Believe it or not, even in a rough season for the Eagles, the team’s defense finished third in the NFL with 49 sacks. Under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz (who is now retiring) the Eagles have always been pretty stout in terms of pass rush, and Burke’s experience with that group should come in handy as he’ll have a heck of a cast in Chicago if he were to be hired.
Chicago has to get back to sacking the quarterback, period. That’s where it all starts. Getting after the quarterback is something which should come easy for this group, but under Pagano, the Bears defense was so vanilla that opposing offenses didn’t have a lot to worry about when it came to disguised blitzes or aggression on Pagano’s part.
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Burke would be another under-the-radar option to replace Pagano, and with his experience, he should be a qualified candidate.