The Bears opted against making a change involving head coach John Fox after a 3-13 season, but they are making changes to his staff.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the team has fired offensive line coach Dave Magazu and assistant defensive backs coach Sam Garnes, both of whom coached with Fox in both Carolina and Denver before coming with him to Chicago.
At a Wednesday press conference, Fox didn’t confirm the departures and said the team is still figuring things out. He did confirm that running backs coach Stan Drayton is leaving the team in order to take a job at the University of Texas and that there won’t be changes involving the team’s coordinators.
Magazu joined up with Fox with the Panthers in 2003, so his departure ends a long run for the two of them. There’s no word on a replacement, but the Bears did have assistant offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson and longtime NFL center Kevin Mawae working with their offensive linemen this season.
Garnes began working with Fox in Carolina for the 2010 season and the former NFL safety worked with players at that position in all three stops.