Bears hire new assistant special teams coach

The Bears experienced unprecedented special teams success in 2006 and ‘07 when Kevin O’Dea was the assistant to special teams coordinator Dave Toub, and now they’re back together.

O’Dea was rehired Wednesday to replace Chris Tabor, who was named the Cleveland Browns’ special teams coordinator on Tuesday.

In O’Dea’s first two years with the Bears, they were No. 1 in the NFL in overall special teams (according to the Dallas Morning News ranking system compiled by Rick Gosselin) both seasons.

Devin Hester set an NFL single-season record with 5 combined kick-return touchdowns as a rookie in 2006 and topped that with 6 in 2007.

O’Dea helped kicker Robbie Gould to the Pro Bowl following the 2006 season after Gould set the franchise record with 32 field goals and set a then-team record with an 88.9 field goal percentage (32 of 36). Gould topped that mark with an 89.7 percent success rate in 2008. In ‘07, Gould had 31 of 36 FG attempts (86.1 percent).

“We had a lot of success,” Toub said on the Bears website. “Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge, particularly in the kicking area. He’s very strong with the techniques and fundamentals of punting and kicking. It should be a smooth transition. Anytime you have a change, there’s going to be a little transition. But it shouldn’t be much with Kevin.”

After leaving the Bears, O’Dea spent two seasons as special teams coordinator with the New York Jets in 2008-09 before serving as special teams coordinator with the Hartford Colonials in the United Football League in 2010.

Prior to joining the Bears in ‘06, O’Dea spent 13 seasons as an NFL assistant with the Chargers (1994-95), Buccaneers (1996-01), Lions (2002-03) and Cardinals (2004-05). He worked with Bears coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli in Tampa Bay.