Juan Castillo's Plans for Turning Around Bears Offensive Line

New Bears line coach brings a simple formula of repetition, work and physicality but has an approach coach Matt Nagy swears by after their years together in Philadelphia

Bears coach Matt Nagy raves constantly about the success new offensive line coach Juan Castillo has enjoyed in his NFL career.

Nagy has nearly built a mystique up about Castillo's ability to teach he offensive line with all the praise.

To hear Castillo talk about his 18 years in Philadelphia under coach Andy Reid and Chip Kelly, as well as stint in Buffalo and Baltimore, it's something as simple as repetition.

"It's about doing it over and over and over and over," Castillo said, hitting a solid surface each time he said "over" while speaking Wednesday to reporters in a Zoom conference.

Castillo used to call linemen out on the field for extra fundamental work well before practices and then in practice it's more repetition.

"It's about finding the time to do it over and over and over," Castillo said.

Castillo has his work cut out, no doubt. The Bears allowed 45 sacks last year, more than any Bears team since 2011. They averaged only 3.7 yards a rush to rank 29th. And for help, they have enlisted Germain Ifedi as a possible new starter at right guard but that's it.

Yet they believe Castillo can turn the line around because they've seen it back to those days when Nagy's office in Philadelphia was right across from Castillo's and they built a solid relationship.

Fundamentally Sound

"I think you have to remember," Castillo said. "You talk about offensive line and play this and it's about fundamentals, man."

It's nothing drastically different, just making good use of their practice time.

"To be a good lineman, you have to be consistent," Castillo said. "And there's only one way you become more consistent is by doing something over and over and over and over."

And he hit the surface with is hand each time he said over. Again and again.

"I think what coach (Reid) saw in me is that I'm an overachiever," Castillo said. "I work hard. My parents are from Mexico. I'm the first generation so I only know one way and my thing with my players is, I try to lead by example. My guys are going to outwork everybody."

If it seems Castillo is all about repetition and not about physicality on the line, that's not the case. The Bears plan to be physical on the line, possibly more than in the past.

"The thing that we learned as an offensive line at Philadelphia is that, if coach (Reid) was gonna throw the ball, we're gonna be physical when he threw the ball. When the ball got thrown, we're gonna go downfield and finish plays before the whistle."

Reid's teams have normally been pass-first offenses and Nagy definitely has leaned this way.

"If we throw the ball 60 percent of the time, man, we're gonna be downfield when the ball's thrown, we're gonna be able to finish," Castillo said. "If we run the ball, we're gonna finish. It doesn’t matter how it’s done."

His Talent

Although Castillo prefers to look ahead rather than rehash past failure under former offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, he does know a little about his talent at hand. He's drawn some observations from film and talking via Zoom in meetings and one player he stood up for was Ifedi.

"All of you help me out with Germain, OK?" Castillo said to reporters. "Let's look at Germain. He's 6-foot-6, right now he's currently 335 pounds. OK? How many years did he start for the Seattle Seahawks? And they're pretty good, right?"

Ifedi started four seasons but was playing tackle and the Bears plan to use him at guard.

"Imagine getting something like that and now, would you be excited to work with something like that," Castillo said. "Here's a guy who's 6-6, 335 pounds, you know, that's got some God-given ability that's got some big heart, that's tough, that wants to be good. Am I excited? Oh, buddy, am I excited.

"Let me tell you, he's been working his ass off. Working his ass off."

Another danger spot on the line has been whether to play James Daniels at guard or center, although he's been strong enough at either spot.

"The thing about James Daniels is that James Daniels is smart, he's an athlete," Castillo said. "All right? So he's going to be a good player whether he plays guard or center. Ya know?"

Daniels has added 10 pounds, which tends to indicate Daniels will be at guard. Castillo didn't want to get too specific on whether the Bears plan to play Daniels at center or guard but it seemed obvious.

"If you're a good guard, you'll be a good center because everything is a little tighter," Castiloo said. "So I think with the length and the size that James has, I think he has a chacne to be a very good guard."

Daniels also has something else Castillo likes.

"My son played at Iowa just like James did," Castillo said. "So just like with Marshall Yanda when I was with Marshall at Baltimore, not that I played favoritism or anything. But him and I? We have a little Hawkeye in us. Ya know? So I'm really excited about it. Any time I can coach a Hawkeye, I'm excited."

He's also excited to coach Charles Leno Jr., another of those whose stack of penalties has been well documented.

"So now you say, well, coach, other people have tried (with Leno)," Castillo said. "The thing that has to happen is that the young man has to learn, you have to get him to believe that, you know what, if you do this so many times, you're going to be able to master the technique and the technique is going to carry over."

Over and over, and over.

Matt Nagy says the Bears will love the way their line coach teaches. With all the work the Bears' linemen have ahead of them, it sounds like tough love.

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