When John Fox suggested there could be “a lot of changes” in his coaching staff this week, he wasn’t lying.
Friday brought a new departure in the Bears’ assistant coaching ranks, league sources confirmed: outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt did not extend his three-year contract after it expired.
Marc Trestman first hired Hurtt to help coach the defensive line in 2014, but Fox kept him on staff as the outside linebackers coach a year later. He helped transition Willie Young and Lamarr Houston from defensive end in 2015. This season, first-round pick Leonard Floyd, who had seven sacks as a rookie, credited Hurtt for his development.
Former Bears coordinator Adam Gase was interested in bringing Hurtt, a former University of Miami player and coach, to the Dolphins last season.
Fox said earlier this week that his coordinators would remain “intact,” though admitted change was inevitable for his staff.
Running backs coach Stan Drayton, who tutored star rookie Jordan Howard, left Tuesday to become the associate head coach/run game coordinator at the University of Texas. Offensive line coach Dave Magazu, the long-time Fox assistant who coached center Cody Whitehair, won’t return to the Bears next season, either.
