Reports: Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano to retire originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears will at least need a new defensive coordinator in 2021.
After a long and well respected career in both college football and the NFL, Chuck Pagano has decided to retire after spending two seasons with the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports. The Athletic was first to report the news Tuesday evening.
Pagano took over the defense in 2019 after former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was hired as the Denver Broncos‘ head coach. He took over a unit that ranked No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA in 2018, but fell to No. 10 in 2019 before improving slightly to No. 8 in 2020. The pass rush and takeaway numbers both declined under Pagano after reaching historical levels in 2018.
Pagano, 60, spent nearly four decades coaching football, starting as a graduate assistant at USC in 1984. After a successful run coaching defensive backs at the University of Miami in the late-1990s, Pagano jumped to the NFL with the Cleveland Browns in 2001 and eventually rose to be the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. He went 56-46 as the Colts’ head coach, including a 3-3 record in the playoffs. He was fired after the 2017 season and spent 2018 out of football before the Bears hired him.
The Bears have yet to announce any changes to their front office or coaching staff.
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