Gase rejoining Fox as Bears offensive coordinator
Adam Gase failed to land any of the several head-coaching jobs he interviewed for in the past three weeks, but that only made him available to become the Bears' offensive coordinator Wednesday.
The 36-year-old Gase will work under Bears head coach John Fox in the identical arrangement that worked in Denver the past two years when the Broncos became the NFL's highest-scoring team.
The Bears also announced Wednesday the hiring of defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, who held the same job under Fox in Denver.
Donatell replaces Jon Hoke, who will not be back with the Bears. Strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Clark also will not return.
Many NFL observers consider Gase one of the brightest young offensive coaches in the game. He interviewed for the offensive coordinator job Wednesday at Halas Hall and a contract agreement was reached in the early evening.
Before Gase was Fox's offensive coordinator, he was Denver's quarterbacks coach for two years and wide receivers coach the two years before that.
Gase interviewed for the Bears' head-coaching job Jan. 3 and also for the top spot with the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and with his former team. None of those resulted in a job offer.
Gase also interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens for their offensive coordinator position that went to former Bears head coach Marc Trestman. He also interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars' OC position that went to Greg Olson, who was the Bears' quarterbacks coach in 2003 and most recently the Oakland Raiders' offensive coordinator.
It's possible that some teams shied away from hiring Gase as their offensive coordinator because they believe he will be leaving soon to become a head coach.
In addition to his four years on Fox's staff, Gase also has a connection to the Bears' new general manager Ryan Pace.
Gase is married to the daughter of Saints assistant head coach and linebackers coach Joe Vitt, whose nine years in New Orleans coincided with Pace's 13 years in the Saints' scouting/personnel department.
In his first two years in Denver (2009-10), Gase was the wide receivers coach. In his first season in that role, he worked directly with Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who caught 101 passes for 1,120 yards and 10 touchdowns before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
In Gase's first year as offensive coordinator, the Broncos set the all-time NFL record with 606 points (37.9 per game) and quarterback Peyton Manning established single-season records with 5,477 passing yards and 55 TD passes.
After three years as a defensive assistant and recruiting assistant at LSU following his graduation from Michigan State, Gase began his NFL coaching career at 25 with the Detroit Lions, first as a scouting assistant then an offensive assistant and finally quarterbacks coach in 2007.
After a year with the 49ers as an offensive assistant, he joined the Broncos.
• The Bears announced there will be no increase to ticket prices for the 2015 season.
Invoices are scheduled to be sent to season-ticket holders in mid-February. Non-club season-ticket prices range from $81 to $175, and account for approximately 85 percent of the seating at Soldier Field. United Club season tickets range from $275 to $550.
Season-ticket holders will continue to see a $25 per game savings for each regular-season ticket as compared to the individual game price.
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