Updated: 3:11 PM EST February 1, 2021
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is shaking things up a bit on his staff.
He said Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach Nick Howell will continue as coordinator and oversee the secondary, but former inside linebackers coach Shane Hunter will become the safety coach.
Mendenhall said this will afford Howell more time to oversee the overall effectiveness of the defense.
Co-defensive Coordinator Kelly Poppinga will now coach all the linebackers, and Special Teams Coordinator Riky Brumfield will also coach cornerbacks.
Offensive Coordinator Robert Anea will assume Brumfield s role as tight ends coach.
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Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine won't return to the team next season and special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga has been fired after the Packers' second straight NFC championship game loss last Sunday. The Packers said in an announcement late Friday afternoon that Pettine would not be back next season. ESPN reported that Pettine's contract expired at the end of this season.
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Sean Desai, the new Defensive Coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Photo: Chicagobears.com press release
Brace yourselves, the Chicago Bears have become the first NFL team to hire a Desi defensive coordinator.
Between chess club, mathletes and Sunday school, sports would just be a distraction that would lead to B’s on report cards…which makes Sean Desai’s rise to heading the defense of one of the most storied franchises in NFL history that much more remarkable.
Desai, the son of Indian immigrants, is a learned man. In fact, he has a PhD in educational administration from Temple University, the same University that gave him his start in a football career. For four years, he was their defensive & special-teams coach with future stints at University of Miami and Boston College, until he broke through as a quality control assistant with the Bears in 2013, specifically working on improving the defensive schemes for linebackers and defensive backs.