The Chiefs couldn’t stop Phil Emery from leaving the team to become Bears general manager, but they did stop him from bringing one of their coaches with him.
Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chiefs blocked the Bears from interviewing quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn for a similar job on Lovie Smith’s staff. NFL teams are permitted to deny assistants under contract the chance to interview for assistant coaching jobs on other teams.
The Chiefs are looking for a new offensive coordinator and this move could be seen as a sign that Zorn would be under consideration for that position. There haven’t been any signals out of Kansas City that it is a possibility, but Zorn has wound up getting unexpected promotions in the past. He was hired as the Redskins offensive coordinator in 2008 and promoted to head coach a month later.
The Bears are in need of a quarterbacks coach who can oversee all aspects of the passing game for new offensive coordinator Mike Tice. Jensen reports that Alex Van Pelt is under consideration for the role.