The Bears are building a new team to help their quarterbacks, no matter who they choose for the position.
Four days after hiring Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator, the Bears added another assistant to the mix with Kerry Joseph following Waldron from Seattle to become the new quarterbacks coach on Matt Eberflus’ staff.
The Bears announced the move Friday evening.
Waldron and Joseph coached together for the last three seasons, with Joseph serving as the Seahawks assistant wide receivers coach in 2021 and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022 and 2023. Now he will take on much bigger responsibilities inside the quarterbacks room at Halas Hall. At a pivotal time for the organization, he will be tasked with overseeing the growth of either three-year starter Justin Fields or a prospect selected in April’s draft.
Joseph was part of the offensive staff in Seattle in 2022, with Waldron and quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, when quarterback Geno Smith revived his career with a Pro Bowl season that also earned him Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Joseph, 50, will serve as the quarterbacks coach for the American Team at the Senior Bowl next week. He replaces Andrew Janocko, whom the Bears fired along with coordinator Luke Getsy this month after the team’s passing offense ranked 27th in the NFL averaging 182.1 yards per game.
The Bears still need to hire wide receivers and running backs coaches to fill out their offensive staff. They also are interviewing defensive coordinator candidates.
Sanjay Lal, who spent the last two seasons as the Seahawks passing game coordinator and receivers coach, was in the mix for the Bears receivers coach job but decided Friday to explore other opportunities, according to a source. The Bears remain in competition to fill out their coaching staff, as eight teams entered the month in the hunt for new head coaches. Six of those vacancies have since been filled, with those teams working to fill out their staffs.
Before his time with the Seahawks, Joseph was the passing game coordinator and running backs coach at Southeastern Louisiana in 2019. He began his coaching career at McNeese State, where he was the co-offensive coordinator for three seasons and worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Joseph was also a quarterback at McNeese State but moved to safety in the NFL. He played in 56 games over four seasons with the Seahawks. He also played quarterback in the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe.
The Bears on Tuesday officially hired Waldron, who was the Seahawks offensive coordinator for three seasons after four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
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