Mark DeLeone, who worked alongside Bears coach Matt Nagy from 2013-17, was named the Bears’ new inside linebackers coach Tuesday.
DeLeone spent the last six seasons with the Chiefs. He was the team’s inside linebackers coach last year after spending three years as the team’s assistant linebackers coach. He was the Chiefs’ defensive quality control coach from 2013-14. In his Kansas City tenure, he worked with standouts Derrick Johnson, Reggie Ragland, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston.
DeLeone was a Jets defensive assistant in 2012 and a Temple University graduate assistant the year before. In 2010, he was a quality control coach for Urban Meter’s Florida Gators.
He started as a student assistant at Iowa and spent 2009 as New Hampshire’s operations director.
DeLeone inherits a steady, potentially spectacular position group headed by veteran Danny Trevathan and first-round pick Roquan Smith. He replaces Glenn Pires, who, along with assistant defensive backs coach Roy Anderson, was not brought back by the Bears. The team also lost defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, defensive backs coach Ed Donatell and outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley to the Broncos.
Defensive line coach Jay Rodgers is the only Bears position coach who will return from last year.
New defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has all-but-filled his staff. The Bears still have yet to fill an assistant defensive backs coach position.
