Sean Desai draws reported interview request from Seattle

The new Bears head coach is understood to have to make a decision on whether to use his own defensive coordinator or keep Sean Desai.

The Seattle Seahawks are trying to make that decision for everyone.

The Bears don’t have a coach yet, but their defensive coordinator is still under contract and Desai is an interesting person for the Seattle Seahawks.

According to a report by `’s Michael-Shawn Dugar, the Seahawks have asked the Bears for permission to interview Desai.

On Tuesday, the Seahawks fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and passing game coordinator Andre Curtis after finishing 28th on defense and 31st against passing.

The Bears beat the Seahawks 25-24 on December 26 with Nick Foles at quarterback. Preparing for this game may have left an impression on coach Pete Carroll about the Bears’ defense. They had come into this game after holding the Vikings to 17 points in a loss with a full backup secondary, including players from the practice team.

Speculation in Seattle had focused on the Seahawks possibly contacting former Bears defensive coordinator and Broncos head coach Vic Fangio A Seahawks Seattle Times reporter mentioned the possibility You may be interested in Ed Donatell, the former Bears defenseman coach who served as Fangio’s defensive coordinator.

So a Desai fit seems like a decent one considering he was mentored by Fangio and worked with Donatell on the Bears staff.

Under Desai, the Bears defense climbed back into the top 10 overall to sixth in yards after slipping to 11th in 2020 under Chuck Pagano. They improved from 12th to 3rd against pass and led the NFL in sacks per pass defended last year.

However, they also finished 22nd in goal defense after finishing fourth and 14th in two seasons under Pagano. The Bears allowed 24 points or more on 10 occasions and 29 or more points on seven occasions while wasting late leads against Baltimore and Pittsburgh and suffering a late-game meltdown against Green Bay in the 24-14 loss at Soldier Field.

On the other hand, Desai managed to keep the team in the game despite injuries to Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack and Danny Trevathan. They had Hicks for nine games, Mack for six, and Trevathan for five games. They also lost Eddie Jackson safety to a hamstring injury for three games and played all season with either the unproven Kindle Vildor or veteran Street free-agent acquisition Artie Burns at left cornerback start.

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