The Bear’s Den, February 12, 2022

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

New Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus finalizes staff, adds 3 assistants - ESPN - The Bears added former NFL linebacker Carlos Polk as assistant special teams coach, assistant defensive line coach Justin Hinds and coaching assistant Kevin Koch.

Matt Eberflus creating connection with Bears greats like Jimbo Covert - NBC Sports Chicago - New Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is creating connections with team legends, like Jimbo Covert.

Mayer: Bears hire Carlos Polk as assistant special teams coach - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Friday hired Carlos Polk as their assistant special teams coach. The former NFL linebacker has spent 10 seasons as an assistant special teams coach with the Chargers, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Jaguars.

Home-Grown special teams assistant joins Bears - Sports Illustrated Chicago Bears - Former Rockford, Ill.. high school star Carlos Polk has been signed as Bears special teams assistant after an NFL playing and coaching career.

Chicago Bears Complete Coaching Staff - Sports Illustrated Chicago Bears - The Chicago Bears added two more assistant coaches and reported the team’s staff is now complete, even while many teams around the league with new head coaches are just getting started filling out their staffs.

Mayer: Eberflus completes Bears coaching staff with two hires - ChicagoBears.com - New Bears coach Matt Eberflus finalized his coaching staff Friday with the hiring of Justin Hinds as assistant defensive line coach and Kevin Koch as a coaching assistant.

Lori Lightfoot has ‘compelling’ case for Bears to stay in Chicago - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears have a purchase agreement to buy Arlington Park, and may leave Soldier Field.

Why Bears’ Devin Hester will make the Hall of Fame one day without question - NBC Sports Chicago - Bears Hall of Fame tackle Jimbo Covert was disappointed that Devin Hester was not a member of the Hall’s Class of 2022, but he explains why there’s no doubt that Hester will one day be enshrined in Canton.

New Chicago Bears defensive coordinator draws on experience - Sports Illustrated Chicago Bears - Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams had an unsuccessful first attempt to head up an NFC North defense in Minnesota but says experience and an entirely new situation can make for more success.

Chicago Bears complete coaching staff for 2022 season - Bears Wire - The Bears have finalized their coaching staff for the 2022 season.

Mayer: Exclusive Q-and-A with Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower - ChicagoBears.com - New Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower spoke exclusively with ChicagoBears.com senior writer Larry Mayer this week at Halas Hall about rejoining the Bears and what characteristics he’s seeking in players.

How each NFC team can replace the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LVII - NFL.com - The Bears must: build an offense around Justin Fields’ strengths.

Lightfoot still hoping to keep Bears in Chicago - 670 The Score - Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is not giving up just yet with her hopes to keep the Bears at Soldier Field.

Report: Seahawks to hire Sean Desai as defensive coordinator - 670 The Score - Desai will be named the Seahawks’ new associated head coach - defense, NFL Media reported on Friday. The 38-year-old Desai spent last season as the Bears’ defensive coordinator.

Bears’ Defensive Coordinator Alan Williams believes Bears ready for defense scheme switch - 670 The Score - “When you have good players, good players are good players no matter what scheme they’re in,” Williams said Thursday. “And we have good players.”

Bears 2021 rookie season review: QB Justin Fields - Bears Wire - Justin Fields’ rookie season was filled with plenty of ups and downs. But the future is bright for the Bears QB.

PODCAST: Brandon Robinson joins Picks for Poles for a Senior Bowl Recap - 247 Sports - This week on the Picks For Poles Podcast, hosts Andrew Freeman and Usayd Koshul are joined by a special guest to recap the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

PODCAST: Devin Hester misses Hall of Fame - Chicago Sun-Times - Halas Intrigue: Why did Devin Hester miss out on a trip to Canton?

Dubow: There’s no bet too strange for the Super Bowl - Chicago Sun-Times - From Gatorade to Scorigami, gamblers can put money on it.

Stratman: Lightfoot hints at new proposals for Soldier Field - Chicago Sun-Times - The future of Soldier Field has been up in the air since September, when the Bears announced it signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse and was looking to build a new stadium at that site.

Finley: Former Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai to join Seahawks as associate head coach - Chicago Sun-Times - The former Bears defensive coordinator interviewed with coach Pete Carroll for the position last month, but the job went to another former Bears assistant, Clint Hurtt.

Morrisey: Looking for Justin Fields in the Super Bowl QBs — and not finding him. - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears quarterback isn’t like either Super Bowl quarterback. Is there hope?

Finley: Jimbo Covert waited 30 years for his Hall call, says Devin Hester won’t have to - Chicago Sun-Times - Covert knows how frustrating it is to wait. In that sense, the franchise’s most recent Hall of Famer sympathizes with former Bears return great Devin Hester, who was not named one of the five modern-era inductees Thursday night.

Finley: Khalil Herbert on new coach Matt Eberflus: ‘I love his energy’ - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears’ running back flew to Los Angeles after meeting with new head coach Matt Eberflus for the first time Thursday at Halas Hall.

Lieser: Startling contrast in Bengals’ plan for QB Joe Burrow, Bears’ handling of Justin Fields - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bengals empowered Burrow as their franchise quarterback from the day they drafted him, and look where they are now. The Bears, meanwhile, are looking at 2022 as a do-over for Fields.

Wiederer: New Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s vision - Chicago Tribune - Step 1 for new Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy: Build a bond with young QB Justin Fields. “You have to dive into that relationship if you want to have any kind of success.”

Pratt: A roof for Soldier Field? Chicago will explore to try to keep Bears - Chicago Tribune - Lightfoot doesn’t think Arlington Heights can offer the Bears a "tier-one" situation, she said.

Lincicome: Welcome to another round of Bears Dominoes. The game you can never win. - Daily Herald - Time once again to play Bears Dominoes. This is a game wholly licensed and practiced by the Chicago Bears and any reproduction or other use of it by any other football franchise without the written consent of the Bears will be laughed out of town.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Russell Wilson: Hope and goal is to be back and keep winning - ProFootballTalk - Wilson, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, said near the end of the regular season that his “goal is to win more Super Bowls” and that he plans to win them with the Seahawks. He was singing the same tune during a Friday appearance with Chris Russo on Mad Dog Sports Radio.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Detroit Lions to reportedly lose Dom Capers for defensive assistant job with Broncos - Pride Of Detroit - The veteran defensive assistant will try to kick start a new regime like he did with the Lions in 2021.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong Jr: Tarik Cohen awarded Bears’ 2021 Ed Block Courage Award - Windy City Gridiron - What makes the Ed Block Courage Award winner so special is that it’s solely determined by a vote of his teammates, and it goes to “players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.”

Wiltfong Jr: Bears hire Carlos Polk as assistant special teams coach - Windy City Gridiron - Polk has been coaching since 2009, the first year his playing career ended, when he was hired as the assistant special teams coach Grossmont Junior College.

Wiltfong Jr's Chicago Bears 2022 Roster Turnover: A revamped wide receiving corps is coming - Windy City Gridiron - In this 13 part series we’ll take an in depth look at each position group for the Chicago Bears with an eye towards the 2022 season. We’ll speculate on who stays, who goes, and some potential additions we’d like to see general manager Ryan Poles make.

THE RULES

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Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel which includes Bear With Me from Robert Schmitz, Bears Over Beers featuring Jeff Berckes & EJ Snyder (their BOB YouTube Channel can be found here), Bears Banter hosted by Bill Zimmerman, Rule of 3 with R. Schmitz, Danny Meehan, and Brandon Robinson, Bear & Balanced from Jeff and Lester A. Wiltfong Jr., and T Formation Conversation from Lester; EJ also co-hosts The Bootleg Football Podcast with Brett Kollmann; R. Schmitz has a film breakdown show on YouTube titled Run Pass Opinion; Will Robinson II has his WhiskeyRanger YouTube channel, and Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert.

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