Chicago Bears: Vic Fangio Brings Needed Change to Defense

The Chicago Bears have quite the history when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. Players such as middle linebackers Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher have provided the grit for many successful Bears defenses over the decades – with Singletary as one of the cogs in Buddy Ryan’s legendary 46 defense in Chicago’s 1985 Super Bowl-winning season.

However, in the last two seasons since Urlacher’s retirement and head coach Lovie Smith’s firing, the only thing historic about the Bears defense has been the amount of mediocrity displayed by the defense of recently fired defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.

In the two years that Tucker filled the position following former defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s bolting of the Bears for the Dallas Cowboys’ position, Chicago went 13-19 and finished a horrifyingly-bad 30th in total defense each of the last two seasons. Not once had the Bears done that since 1999, but Tucker, who is now coaching defensive backs under head coach Nick Saban at Alabama, managed to get his defense to drop to such humiliating standards two years in a row. The Bears also finished bottom half of the league in rushing defense both years, including a dead-last finish in 2013.

Nov 16, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker during the third quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

With the recent addition of defensive coordiantor Vic Fangio, the Windy City faithful can shed a glimmer of hope for the defense in 2015. Fangio brings over 35 years of coaching experience to the table, and is – most importantly- changing up the defensive scheme in the front seven from a 4-3 to a 3-4 look.

In four years as the 49ers defensive coordinator, Fangio turned a middle-of-the-pack defense that had not finished in the top-10 in total defense since 1997 into an absolute running back-destroying machine. In his first season in San Francisco, Fangio’s defense – led to by recently-retired linebacker Patrick Willis-finished as the best team against the rush in the NFL. The 49ers also finished no less than fifth in the league in total defense under Fangio’s direction.

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Going back to the the 3-4, or “30-front”, the system helped develop some great talent in San Francisco, most notably linebacker Aldon Smith, who was drafted the same year that Fangio took the defensive helm. Â Legal issues aside, the Missouri product accumulated an astonishing 33.5 sacks in his first two seasons playing linebacker in Fangio’s 3-4 defense. And 5.5 of those sacks came during Week 11 of the 2012 season against Chicago on Monday Night Football. He also reached 30 sacks faster than anyone to ever play the game (or at least since 1982, when the NFL made individual sacks an official statistic), doing so in 27 games.

It’s proven that Fangio’s 3-4 scheme has produced some scary defensive units over the years, but the 30-front, like any formation, requires the right personnel. The formation allows for a wider range of personnel in the front seven, and also makes disguising coverages much more doable.

New Bears general manager Ryan Pace has wasted little time settling into his new role, making plenty of moves to support the new defense. Earlier this month, Pace signed former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Pernell McPhee to a five-year contract. According to Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune, the contract’s total value is $38.75 million with $15.5 million guaranteed.Â McPhee recorded 7.5 sacks for the Ravens in 2014, third on the team behind first team All-Pro linebacker Elvis Dumervil (17.5) and Terrell Suggs (12.0).

On March 24, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com that the Bears signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Mason Foster. Foster will be reunited with Bears defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, who was the defensive coordinator at Washington when Foster played for the teamÂ in college. In four seasons with Tampa Bay, Foster has recorded 343 tackles and five interceptions–two of which were returned for touchdowns.

The Bears also made a controversial move with the signing of Ray McDonald, who is infamous for his role in a sexual assault investigation last year. While McDonald‘s off the field actions are in question, there is no doubt that he brings experience in Fangio’s system, as he started all but five regular-season games in four years while playing under him in San Francisco.

Last season, two of the top three solo tacklers on the Bears roster (Ryan Mundy with 75 and Kyle Fuller with 51) were defensive backs, which says a lot about the lack of presence in the front seven. But the implementation of a new scheme by a proven coach at defensive coordinator with new personnel to compliment a front seven that includes linebacker Jonathan Bostic and team-sack leader Willie Young, the future looks bright for the Bears defense come the 2015 season.

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