After a disappointing 7-10 campaign in the 2023 NFL season, it was expected that the Chicago Bears would opt to make multiple changes to their coaching staff ahead of the 2024 season. It started with the hirings of new coordinators on both sides of the ball — former Seahawks OC Shane Waldron, as well as Eric Washington, who coached the defensive line in Buffalo last season. Next came a parade of additional hirings, including the historic addition of assistant running backs coach Jennifer King, the first female coach in Chicago Bears history. The latest name added to this growing list is former New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Griffin.
“Another player-to-coach transition: The #Bears have hired former #Bucs QB Ryan Griffin as an offensive assistant,” according to a tweet from Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. “He will work with the QBs and WRs.”
Griffin was in the NFL from 2013-2022, spending two seasons in New Orleans and an additional eight in Tampa Bay. Despite a decade in the league, Griffin appeared in just one game and attempted only four passes. Even still, Griffin’s NFL experience allowed him to learn first under Drew Brees, and eventually Tom Brady, who Griffin would eventually help stumble off of a boat during the Buccaneers victory parade after winning the Super Bowl in 2021.
Joey Knight
I guess his sea legs aren’t what they used to be…
The natural question I was compelled to ask after reading this news was, “So what ties does Griffin have with the rest of the Bears coaching staff,” and perhaps more importantly, “Are there any ties with either Caleb Williams or Justin Fields?”
The only connection I could find between Ryan Griffin and anyone on the offensive side of the Bears coaching staff was with Kerry Joseph, who came from Seattle with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Joseph worked as a training camp intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, when Ryan Griffin was on the Bucs roster, and he’ll now serve as the Bears quarterbacks coach. On the other front, what I found was that Griffin attended Chaminade College Prep in Los Angeles as a high schooler and grew up in Santa Monica. Is there some sort of California connection I’m missing with Caleb Williams? Maybe, or maybe I’m just grasping for straws.
I guess his sea legs aren’t what they used to be… pic.twitter.com/44K42bWPMe
— Joey Knight (@TBTimes_Bulls) February 10, 2021
Either way, Griffin’s decade of experience in the NFL — and time spent learning under both Brees and Brady — make him an understandable hire for the Bears.
