Bears Coaching Staff Taking Shape With Addition Of Defensive Coordinator

The Chicago Bears staff is starting to take shape as the team announced the hiring of Indianapolis Colts’ safeties coach Alan Williams as defensive coordinator.

The Bears hired Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to be their new head coach last week. Eberflus succeeds Matt Nagy, who was fired at the beginning of January.

As Colts defensive coordinator the past four seasons, Eberflus worked closely with Williams, his previous position coach.

Williams, 52, boasts 30 years of coaching experience, including 21 years in the NFL, and most recently in Indianapolis alongside Eberflus, who has been coaching defensive backs and safeties there since 2018.

Williams entered the league as a defensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001 before spending the next 10 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts as defensive backs coach from 2002 to 2011.

He won a Super Bowl ring in 2006 when Indianapolis beat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

After the 2011 season, Williams joined the Minnesota Vikings as defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013 and served as defensive backs/safeties coach with the Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2017. He returned to the Colts in 2018 for a second stint.

The team also announced the hiring of Colts linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi to the same position on the Chicago staff. Borgonzi heads to Chicago with 16 years of coaching experience, 11 in the league.

The team said in all four seasons the trio worked together in Indianapolis, the Colts ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in run defense and takeaways. The Colts also finished in the top 10 in points allowed three times and was the least penalized defense in the league in 2019 and 2021.

The team previously announced the hiring of general manager Ryan Poles and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as well as the hiring of Steelers' Chris Morgan as their offensive line coach.