Bears hire Kromer, DeCamillis as coordinators

By foxsports
Published

New Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman wasted little time assembling his staff after being hired on Wednesday, bringing in two coordinators.

Chicago hired New Orleans Saints line coach Aaron Kromer as its line coach and offensive coordinator and Dallas' Joe DeCamillis as its assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. The Bears announced the moves on Wednesday, hours after Trestman was hired to replace the fired Lovie Smith.

Kromer served as the Saints' head coach for six games this season while interim head coach Joe Vitt was suspended for his role in the bounty scandal. Saints coach Sean Payton had to sit out the season.

Kromer has been with New Orleans since 2008, coaching running backs for a year before moving over to the offensive line.

During his time as the line coach, the Saints tied for the fewest sacks allowed with 96 and had five blockers combine to make nine Pro Bowls - tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jon Stinchcomb, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks and center Jonathan Goodwin.

Kromer and Trestman worked together on the Oakland Raiders' staff from 2001 to 2003.

DeCamillis has coached or coordinated special teams in the NFL for 25 years - the past four with Dallas - and worked in Atlanta when Bears general manager Phil Emery was the Falcons' college scouting director. He interviewed for Chicago's head coaching job but is joining Trestman's staff, instead. He replaces Dave Toub, who left to take a similar job under Andy Reid in Kansas City.

Dallas' Dwayne Harris was second in the league at 16.1 yards per punt return this season while kicker Dan Bailey tied for second in field goal accuracy at 93.5 percent, converting 29 of 31 attempts.

Now, DeCamillis will oversee a group that consistently ranked among the best during Toub's nine seasons, with stars such as return specialist Devin Hester and kicker Robbie Gould. They had one of the top coverage units this season with Eric Weems and Blake Costanzo.

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