Bears retaining Richard Hightower as special teams coordinator

The Chicago Bears' coaching staff under new head coach Ben Johnson is starting to take shape with its three coordinator roles filled. After the reported hires of Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator and Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator, ESPN's Courtney Cronin was the first to report that Chicago is retaining special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

Hightower is the first -- and perhaps only -- coach to be retained from Matt Eberflus' coaching staff, which says a lot about how Hightower is viewed. Despite the team's flaws during a 5-12 season in 2024, Hightower's special teams unit ranked fifth in DVOA, per Kevin Fishbain, and three players earned Special Teams of the Week honors -- kicker Cairo Santos, punt returner Josh Blackwell and emergency long snapper Cole Kmet.

Hightower joined the Bears back in 2022, where he's served as special teams coordinator for the past three seasons. He previously served as the San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator (2017-21) and was an assistant special teams coach with the Bears (2016), 49ers (2015) and Washington Redskins (2010-11).

Here's a look at Johnson's coaching staff so far (unofficial): Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen; offensive coordinator Declan Doyle; quarterbacks coach: J.T. Barrett; wide receivers coach: Antwaan Randle El; defensive passing game coordinator: Al Harris.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears retaining Richard Hightower as special teams coordinator