Bears hire Mike Phair, Chiefs promote Bill Muir
Mike Phair has replaced Eric Washington as defensive line coach of the Chicago Bears.
The hiring was announced on Thursday, after Washington left to join Ron Rivera with the Carolina Panthers.
Phair has been with the Seattle Seahawks for the past six seasons, being an area scout for the last three. He had been a defensive assistant, defensive line coach, and, assistant linebacker coach.
He had also been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a college scout.
In similar news, the Kansas City Chiefs have hired their fourth offensive coordinator in two years. Although nobody knows who will call the plays, the Chiefs have promoted Bill Muir from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator, after Charlie Weis left
the post to join the University of Florida.
Muir joined head coach, Todd Haley, in Kansas City in 2009 and worked with him on the New York Jets squad for seven years.
He has been both defensive and offensive coordinator in his 34 years in the National Football League (NFL). In a news conference over the phone, Haley thanked Muir for taking the Chiefs to the number one rushing spot in the entire NFL. He also said that
he has worked, and will continue to work, with quarterback, Matt Cassel, to make him even better.
"The key thing here is that we get it right, and I feel like we got it right with Bill Muir," Haley said.
Haley was criticized in his first season after getting rid of Chan Gailey, offensive coordinator, and calling the shots himself. He later admitted that being an offensive coordinator along with the head coaching post was tough for a rookie coach, with the
Chiefs finishing the season 4-12. He had been offensive coordinator when the Arizona Cardinals went to the Super Bowl.
Haley hired Weis after the 2009 season in reversed roles; with the Jets, Weis had been Haley’s boss. Weis was, and still is, one of the most respected coordinators in the entire NFL, seeing as he has won three Super Bowl rings as the New England Patriots’
offensive coordinator.
Players say that Weis contributed to the Chiefs having a 10-6 record and sending Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe to the Pro Bowl.
Cassel has also improved greatly. When Haley was calling the plays, he had 16 passes and also 16 interceptions. However, under Weis, he played with barely any mistakes. That is, until the last two games of the season and the first round of the playoffs.
When players found out that he was leaving, their performance faltered.
Haley said that the team would continue to improve with the promotion of Muir, which it couldn’t have done if they had hired an offensive coordinator from outside the franchise. That matters even more to Cassel since he is working with his fifth offensive
coordinator in four years.
"The development of Matt Cassel is a key ingredient in us continuing to make progress", Haley said. "We have a chance to go into a third full year relatively unchanged from a system terminology standpoint. On top of that, Matt and Coach Muir have had to
work really closely together over the last two years".
Previously, Muir had been with the Bucs for seven years and was with the team when they won the Super Bowl in 2003.
Muir said that he was never the only coach running the offense, but has been a great part in different aspects of the game.
"I think that really good play-calling is the result of a staff that works very well not only offseason, but specifically in the season", Haley said. "That's when the play-calling gets done. A staff that works well together in harmony and is on the same
page".
The Chiefs have now filled all of the vacant positions in their current coaching staff roster and will be getting ready to do better next season. But will promoting Muir actually make the team better?
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