Bears hire Chris Morgan as offensive line coach

The Chicago Bears have announced that they’ve hired Chris Morgan as their new offensive line coach.

The fundamental base of any good offense, Morgan’s work will likely be a driving factor behind whether the Bears’ attack under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy ever takes flight. Aside from the actual coordinator, it’s not a stretch to argue the offensive line coach is the second-most important person on an offensive staff.

Morgan comes over from the Steelers, where he served as their assistant offensive line coach last season. Before Pittsburgh, he was the Falcons’ offensive line coach from 2015-to 2020. He’s previously coached All-Pros and Pro Bowlers like center Alex Mack and tackle Jake Matthews.

In Chicago, Morgan will be first tasked with making something of Bears’ 2021 second-rounder Teven Jenkins, among others, while perhaps integrating a new center (either from free agency or the draft). Given that Atlanta ran a zone-blocking scheme under Morgan, you can expect his hire to likely be a safe indicator of what the Bears will run, according to Luke Getsy. Also, don’t rule out the return of interior lineman James Daniels—set to be an unrestricted free agent, and former zone-blocking maestro—in that regard.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles has already explicitly maintained that he would be prioritizing Chicago’s trenches moving forward. His (and Eberflus’s) hire of Morgan as one of the primary caretakers of that vision is a huge first step.