Chicago Bears: Harry Hiestand hiring another great move for team

The re-hiring of Harry Hiestand was another one of the great moves by the Chicago Bears. He helped improve the offensive line and make it among the best in the NFL.

When people talk about the 2018 Chicago Bears they talk about the great moves general manager Ryan Pace did to assemble the roster. They also talk about the great hiring of Matt Nagy.

One thing that gets overlooked many times is the hiring of offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. Hiestand started his second go-around in Chicago. He worked with the Bears from 2005-09. In that time, he had center Olin Kreutz as a Pro Bowl player for two seasons and an All-Pro for once in that period.

In his first season back in Chicago, Hiestand did his thing again. He had two Pro Bowl linemen represent Chicago in Charles Leno and Cody Whitehair. The line ranked eighth in sacks allowed (33) and second in quarterback hits (64). His best work, however, was the work he did with Bobby Massie. At the start of this season, many thought this was his final season in Chicago. He’s been inconsistent and allowed too much pressure on the quarterback.

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This season, though, he allowed just one sack. He wasn’t flashy but was very steady and improved as the season progressed. He did so well, in fact, that the Bears recently rewarded him with a four-year contract extension, keeping him from hitting free agency.

The Bears feel Hiestand can do even more work with not only Massie but also the entire offensive line. Players just love working with him. Quenton Nelson, who just finished his rookie season with an All-Pro designation as well as a Pro Bowl berth, has nothing but praise for Hiestand. Hiestand worked with Nelson from 2014-17 (per ChicagoBears.com):

"He was the biggest part to my career. When I got to Notre Dame, I wasn’t the best football player by any means. I wasn’t very good, and he just helped me improve every single day. He brought that energy and the attitude every day that we’re going to improve.Him caring about his players would probably be his greatest strength. I feel like you want to play your best game for him because of how much he cares about you as a player and as a person."

One of the best moves that happened on the line occurred because of Hiestand. He made the decision to move rookie James Daniels from his natural center position over to guard. Whitehair did a good job as the center in 2016 filling in, but struggled some in 2017.

He again struggled a bit in the preseason but Hiestand felt the line was better keeping Whitehair at center and Daniels at guard. The decision was a great one as Whitehair overcame his struggles to make the Pro Bowl and Daniels did a good job at guard and his future looks bright at that position.

The Chicago Bears probably go out and get a lineman from the draft. Hiestand can then mold another young player to develop and give the team a younger, more athletic line. When that happens you’ll see how much better Nagy’s offense can get.