Rod Marinelli
The Chicago Bears promoted Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator on Friday.
Marinelli, who had been serving as line coach, replaces Love Smith as head of the defense. Smith is staying on as head coach.
To replace Marinelli’s spot leading the line, the team also promoted assistant DL coach Eric Washington.
This will be the first time in Marinelli’s career that he will be calling the plays. Still, he seems ready for the challenge.
“I’m very excited,” Marinelli said in a team statement. “The defensive staff has all worked together, so it’s just a chance to keep going and build on the subtleties of our system. We’ve all been in it together and I think the familiarity will help.”