Bears request to interview Daronte Jones for defensive coordinator |
It was only a matter of time until these head coaching vacancies began to fill. With so many intriguing young offensive minds, you had a feeling that the current opening would start to go fast, which is what you are seeing now. Chicago was one of those teams searching for a new coach and an offensive-minded Head Coach. They went out and landed the Detriot Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson, who was inked for 13 million dollars annually.
With Johnson officially in charge, the next step in rebuilding this team is for him to establish his staff, and from all accounts, he would like to bring with him an incredible staff. Things have taken a turn in the past 48 hours, as names like Dennis Allen and Darren Rizzi are no longer linked to the Bears after it seemed both were destined to come here. Whatever the reason for the change remains to be seen, but that hasn't stopped Ryan Poles and Johnson from looking elsewhere with the hopes of finding the right coaches to bring in. According to reports, the Bears have once again sent out an interview request within their division and have requested to interview Minnesota Vikings assistant Daronte Jones for their vacant Defensive Coordinator position. Jones played a massive role on Brian Flores' staff, one of the more improved defensive units in the game. Like Aubrey Pleasant, who the team was set to Interview on Thursday, Jones is also the Vikings passing game coordinator and works as the Defensive Backs coach. The Vikings' secondary ranked in the top five in QBR and led the lead in interceptions. Jones was doing something right to coach them up, and the Bears are hopeful they will be granted permission to interview him. While Jones may not be a household name to the casual football fan, he is one of the more respected Head Coaches in the game and has worked with Flores, Marvin Lewis, and Vance Joseph, among others. All three are considered some of the better defensive play-callers in the game, so you have to think that Jones picked up a thing or two from each of them. Even with Allen considering all his options, there is hope that he will ultimately choose to come to this team as he remains the favorite to get the job. Until that decision happens, the Bears can't afford to wait around as they are doing what they must to get as many interviews as possible. When you look at Jones and his coaching career, you can see why the Bears have some interest, as he has worked with several strong offensive minds filling different positions. His coaching journey started with the Miami Dolphins in 2016, during which he spent two seasons as the assistant defensive backs coach. He then moved to Cincinnati to join Lewis and was the Bengals Cornerbacks coach from 2018 to 19. Over the next two seasons, Jones spent one season with Mike Zimmer in Minnesota in 2020 and then went the college route, where he was the LSU defensive coordinator in 2021. That alone has some merit to his interview, as he has one season of defensive playcalling experience, which came at the college level. After spending his lone season at LSU, Jones returned to the Vikings in 2022, and he has been a part of Kevin O'Connell and his staff ever since. He started as the defensive backs coach in 2022, the same position he held in 2020, and has now moved to the Passing Game Coordinator, the role he has served the past two seasons. Don't let that fool you, as Jones still works diligently with the Defensive Backs and would like to continue doing that should he get offered the job in Chicago or anywhere else. In an era where the NFL is all about the connections you make, Jones does have prior ties with Johnson, as the two of them were on the same staff in Miami. Granted, they coached on different sides of the ball, but they still worked together, so Johnson must've liked what he saw from him to consider him for this position. Jones also has experience with Flores, who Johnson has not only had to go up against in the past two seasons, but Poles and Flores have previous history, so there are plenty of connections for Jones to be linked to this team. Even if most fans feel Jones isn't ready to take over the play-calling duties, he does have prior experience calling plays in the past. Given how the Vikings and all his previous stops have raved about him, the time may be now for him to get his first opportunity.
