Bears hire Alan Williams as defensive coordinator, Dave Borgonzi as linebackers coach

This move was widely expected, but it’s now official as the Chicago Bears have hired Alan Williams to be their new defensive coordinator.

Williams has 30 years experience coaching, including the last 21 years in the NFL. He’s been with Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus since 2018 when Eberflus brought him to Indy as his defensive backs/safeties coach. Prior to that he coached the secondary with the Detroit Lions (2014-2017), and prior to that he was the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings for two years under Leslie Frazier.

Williams’ run in the NFL coaching ranks began in 2001 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive assistant for head coach Tony Dungy. He followed Dungy to the Colts the following season and worked as a defensive backs coach there until 2011. He’s well schooled in Dungy’s Tampa 2 defense and now in Eberflus’ modernized version of it.

Williams will be the one calling the defensive plays as Eberflus already announced that he’ll be taking a big picture approach as head coach.

Today the Bears also announced the addition of linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi.

Borgonzi has been coaching for 16 years, 7 of which was spent working with Eberflus. The two worked together with the Dallas Cowboys from 2011 to 2013, and he was part of Eberflus’ Colts’ staff since 2018.