Before heading into Labor Day weekend, Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson made a quick appointment with his new defensive coordinator, Sean Desai. For most regular-season games, Jackson can’t wait for Friday morning, excited to get his hands on that week’s call sheet and catch a glimpse of how the team’s defensive approach will come together on the big stage.
For this season’s opener, the sneak peek at the game plan came eight days early. Before the extended weekend, Jackson and Desai met briefly and exchanged a few thoughts on how to attack the Los Angeles Rams.
Jackson isn’t about to divulge any strategic detail prematurely. But he will say this much.
“Sean is really open-minded. And he’s very smart. The things he’s putting together are exciting.”
Consider that a warning to old foe Matthew Stafford, the new Rams quarterback. Consider it advance notice to Rams coach Sean McVay and his cast of playmakers. The Bears defense is headed to California this weekend with a new coordinator, a new energy and a plan everyone believes in.
“We all feel jacked up. Most definitely,” Jackson said. “Every guy on our defense feels the exact same thing.”
Call it confidence. Or trust. Or maybe swagger.
Whatever it is, Bears defenders love the rush they’ve had over the past few months. And they’re quick to credit Desai for his vision and passion.
“Sean brings the juice,” defensive lineman Bilal Nichols said.
Added safety Tashaun Gipson: “It’s just a new vibe.”
If you’re looking for the vibe the Bears defense is trying to rediscover, it was present through most of 2018. And it may have reached its peak in Week 14 of that season in a Sunday night Soldier Field showdown against the Rams.
McVay’s high-powered offense entered that night averaging 440 yards and 35 points per game. Twenty days earlier, the Rams hung 54 points on the Kansas City Chiefs, ripping off eight scoring drives in 13 possessions in a three-point win.
The Bears defense, however, with coordinator Vic Fangio spearheading the preparation process, had little doubt it was the superior unit, equipped with answers for anything the Rams might try. Fangio promised his players that if they subscribed to his strategy to limit Todd Gurley and the Rams running game, they could have their way with quarterback Jared Goff.
To help with the former, the Bears used a high volume of six-man fronts. They also aimed to be sharp in disguising coverages on the back end. The blueprint felt rock solid.
On an electric December night, Fangio sat with a bird’s-eye view in his coaching box at Soldier Field and pressed all the right buttons. Desai sat beside him in his role as a defensive quality control coach.
“Vic did a masterful job of creating that game plan and sticking to it,” Desai said. “That was one of his strengths. There aren’t many things that would take him off his plan. He sees the vision and he adjusts appropriately during the game. But he always understood what our identity was.”
True to Fangio’s vision, the Bears defense controlled the night. Gurley squeezed out only 28 rushing yards on 11 carries. Goff, meanwhile, was flummoxed most of the game. He completed only 45% of his passes, was sacked for a safety by Eddie Goldman in the third quarter and threw four interceptions.
In 13 series, the Bears defense allowed only two field-goal drives in a 15-6 victory. The Rams totaled 214 yards.
Nearly three years later, players who were a part of that night’s domination can still feel the adrenaline rush.
“Once we walked out of that tunnel, there was an aura,” linebacker Danny Trevathan said. “All around everything. That is what you’re seeking.”
Added Jackson: “That’s it right there, man. When you find that groove, it’s scary. You love it. It’s fun having the knowledge that you are going to go out there and dominate.”
‘Highly prepared’
Desai acknowledges this is what he is working toward with this year’s defense. He considers Fangio his biggest mentor and hopes that, over time, he can establish credibility as a coordinator and play caller.
Still, he is a rookie in this role and understands there will be a learning curve. It may be steep.
The 2021 Bears haven’t played a game yet. So it would be impractical to forecast a season like 2018, when the defense led the NFL in takeaways, interceptions and points allowed and topped the NFC in sacks. That was when the snowball was really rolling.
Thus it’s little surprise that Desai is quick to point out how the momentum this year’s Bears defense has been building is still relatively miniscule.
“It’s a small snowball,” Desai said. “And we have a long, long way to go yet to get it to roll.”
The process will begin Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with Desai trying to apply weeks of preparation into a three-hour test of his play-calling ability. To steal an analogy from Bears coach Matt Nagy, now it’s about leaving the flight simulator and attempting to fly an actual plane.
Desai believes he has a sense for how the league’s best play callers fuel their success.
“You’re talking about someone who is prepared — highly prepared — and highly engaged and has a really good understanding of what that day’s strengths and weaknesses are,” he said. “For both their defense and the opposing offense. It’s about having a clear picture of all 22 (players on the field).
“What are they doing really well right now? What are we doing really well? What aren’t they doing so good? And what aren’t we doing so good? There’s an art to being able to adapt all that to your play calls.”
A new puzzle must be pieced together each week. Every opponent has different nuances. Every game has a different dynamic. Desai finds a thrill in trying to become a safecracker, seeking the combination to unlock the vault for each week’s ideal plan.
“I take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “I take pride in my preparation. I take pride in being organized. I hope our coaches feel that. And I think our players will continue to see that. … We have answers. And we know where potential problems lie. And if (the opponent) gets us into a problem, that’s OK. That’s what this league is. It’s a chess match between offenses and defenses.”
Jackson believes Desai can push the Bears defense back toward 2018 levels, creating that every-week assuredness that leads to big results. That 2018 swagger, Jackson emphasized, was developed first through the players’ belief in Fangio’s preparation and their unwavering sense that every call he made would position them to make plays.
“That feeling is indescribable, man,” Jackson said. “It’s built-in confidence. You trust whatever is coming in. And with that, there is no second-guessing and no doubts. You’re just waiting for the next call and always knowing you’re in a good spot.”
‘That’s just who I am’
For months now, the praise for Desai has been widespread throughout Halas Hall. Bears general manager Ryan Pace lauds him as “highly intelligent,” “creative” and “extremely organized.” Nagy refers to Desai as “an elite teacher.”
Players have expressed respect for Desai’s ability to connect and, most important, his understanding of how to bring out each individual’s strengths within the framework of the defense.
“He’s a wizard,” Trevathan said.
Added Nichols: “I call him ‘The Mastermind.’ Because he’s always coming up with crazy schemes and ideas.”
Khalil Mack, who frequently referred to Fangio as “an evil genius,” will need to see much more from Desai during the season to place him in that category. “We’ll know in time,” Mack said.
But Mack already feels the excitement Desai has brought to the defense with his preparation habits and intelligence.
“Sean has got a little bit more of a geeky side than any coordinator I’ve been around,” Mack said. “His mind is always (bleeping) going. It’s definitely fun to see.”
Desai doesn’t refute that scouting report, acknowledging he has trouble finding the pause button for his thoughts. He’s always seeking new ideas and exploring potential strategies. The wheels are constantly turning.
“I don’t know what else your brain is supposed to do,” Desai said. “That’s just who I am. And I’ve had to learn how to deal with that, with the brain always going like that. Because it ain’t always good. You have to learn to find that balance. I’m still learning that.”
Desai also has come to realize not all of his proposals will resonate immediately. Gipson said there have been occasions when he needed extra time to process a concept Desai pitched.
“He’s a super smart guy,” Gipson said. “But sometimes he thinks light years ahead. So sometimes when he first brings an idea to you, you say, ‘Sean there’s no way that’s going to work.’ … Then after he breaks it down to you, you’re like, ‘OK. Five minutes ago, there’s no way I would have put that together. But now it makes sense.’ “
Ready … set …
As the season arrives, Desai understands he needs to get the most out of his best players for the defense to reach its potential.
That means establishing Mack as an every-week game wrecker, an elite pass rusher whose production shows up on the stat sheet and in the highlight reel. It means creating more opportunities for Jackson to be around the ball and making sure the playmaking safety doesn’t go months without an interception. It means turning inside linebacker Roquan Smith loose in a variety of ways and taking advantage of his game-changing speed and high-level instincts.
All of that will require the Bears to be unpredictable, to embrace different looks. Desai wants his defense to be disciplined, physical and tough with an urge to swarm to the ball. He has promised to move players around to create advantageous situations.
“Is every game going to be perfect? No, it’s not,” Nagy said. “But the thing I think is great about Sean is he’s very resilient. He believes in what he’s teaching.”
Desai has deep conviction in how the greatest teachers connect.
“The first thing you need, without question, is trust,” he said. “The players have to trust that you have their best interest in mind and that you’re really doing this from a place that’s without ego. You try to do it from a holistic perspective.”
Desai doesn’t yet have the voluminous library of experience and wisdom Fangio was able to tap into when he had the Bears humming in 2018. At 38 and entering his first season as a coordinator on any level, Desai remains green and unproven in this heightened role.
But he enters this season with one key ingredient Fangio had three years ago: universal buy-in from his players.
Trust has been established that Desai will back up his vows to put each of them in positions of strength, freeing them to make impact plays on a regular basis. To those players who were here three years ago, hints of a similar vibe are emerging.
“Sean sees the game at an advanced level,” Trevathan said. “With each situation, he knows he has a call to match.”
Desai credits Fangio for showing him “how to prepare at an advanced level.” Any success the Bears have Sunday night or throughout this season will have to be rooted there.
“The more you prepare and the more you understand who you are and what you want to be, the better the play-calling is going to be,” Desai said.
The Bears feel ready for Sunday’s opening test against the Rams. Jackson smiled as he recounted that short meeting with Desai last week.
“(The way) he’s drawing things up is pretty cool,” he said. “Just how he’s playing guys and letting guys get after it. I’ll just leave it at that.”
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