A Super Coordinators Battle Brewing with Bears Ties

The battle of special teams coordinators in Super Bowl LV involves two former Bears coaches and there are also a few other connections

It's a small league after all.

There is a great deal more player movement between teams. So when two teams square off for the Super Bowl there's a good chance the team you follow has a former player or two on one of those teams playing for the Lombardi Trophy.

In Sunday's Super Bowl LV, there are a few former Chicago Bears on the rosters but it's a very small number with a chance to win a Super Bowl ring and they won't even be playing, anyway.

However, there is a one huge ex-Bears coaching battle going on when the Chiefs and Buccaneers play Sunday at Tampa.

Both of these coordinators had interviews to be Bears head coach in the past. 

The coach in charge of special teams when Devin Hester made his famed opening kick return of Super Bowl XLI, Dave Toub, is trying to win another ring as Kansas City special teams coordinator while one of his predecessors in Chicago as Bears special teams coordinator is trying to do the same thing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Prior to Toub's 2004-2012 run as Bears special teams coordinator, Tampa Bay special teams coordinator Keith Armstong was a Bears special teams coordinator for four seasons. 

Dave Wannstedt hired Armstrong in 1997 and he stayed on for the start of Dick Jauron's coaching regime, lasing through the 2000 season.

Special Teams Success

Toub, of course, is well known for Devin Hester's return success. The Bears had 22 returned kicks of all kinds by six different players for touchdowns during Toub's time under Smith in Chicago. He was special teams coach of the year when the Bears went to the Super Bowl in 2006. during that season and in 2007 the Bears finished No. 1 overall in the special teams ranking system devised by former Dallas Morning News writer Rick Goesselin and used extensively throughout the NFL.

Toub's son Shane is still on the Bears staff as defensive quality control coach and Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor was Toub's assistant in Chicago.

Toub interviewed for the Bears head coach position after Smith's firing at the end of the 2012 season, when Phil Emery decided on Marc Trestman as the new coach. During that same interview period, Armstrong also interviewed for Bears head coach.

Armstrong was a safeties and defensive backs coach in Atlanta for three years prior to Wannstedt hiring him as special teams coordinator. This is his second Super Bowl. He made it to Super Bowl LI as Falcons special teams coordinator in their loss to New England. Armstrong was Dolphins special teams coordinator from 2001-2007 after leaving the Bears. He took over as Falcons special teams coordinator in 2008 and stayed their through 2018 before joining Bruce Arians' staff with Tampa Bay.

Glyn Milburn became the top Bears return threat under Armstrong and had two returns for TDs in 1998. In the same season, Milburn also had a punt return TD and averaged a career-best 11.6 yards a punt return.

Former Bears Players

The only former Bears players with shots at winning a ring on Sunday are Kansas City practice squad offensive linemen. One is Bryan Witzmann, who was a mid-season acquisition by the Bears in 2018 and started for them after Kyle Long was injured. Witzmann was allowed to leave in free agency after the season and is back with the Chiefs, the team he played for before coming to the Bears.

The other Chiefs lineman is Patrick Omameh, who was a Bears player in 2015, a waiver wire pickup just before the regular season who became a free agent after the year and was signed by Jacksonville in the offseason.

• Several other coaches with past Bears ties have chances at rings. Former Bears lineman Andy Heck is Chiefs offensive line coach and is trying for a second ring with the team.

• Bucs assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin was the assistant Bears offensive line coach under Lovie Smith from 2004-06.

• Bucs specialist coach (kicker, punter, holder, long snapper) Chris Boniol was Bears kicker for 10 games in 1999.

• Bucs inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell spent the 2002 season with the Bears but wasn't playing in Chicago because they played in Champaign all that season.

• And longtime Bears former assistant athletic trainer Bobby Slater is the head athletic trainer for Tampa Bay.

One of the biggest ties between the Buccaneers coaching staff and the Bears is to head coach Bruce Arians. Or, at least it was almost a tie. Like with Toub and Armstrong, Bruce Arians was interviewed for Bears head coach the season after he served as Colts interim head coach successfully while Chuck Pagano recovered from cancer. 

Of course, Arians didn't get the Bears coaching job because Emery hired Trestman and Arians went to the Cardinals as coach.

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