Bears O-line coach says this season has been both 'fun' and 'nightmarish'

Chicago Bears offensive line coach Dave Magazu says his task this season is a microcosm of life.

"It's a process and it has been fun," Magazu said. "It's a little nightmarish at times, but that's how life is in general."

Magazu, who has spent the past 12 seasons on head coach John Fox's staffs, is currently working with a rookie at center, Hroniss Grasu. The third-round pick was thrust into the lineup when veteran Will Montgomery went down with a season-ending fractured fibula in Week 4.

His left tackle, who protects quarterback Jay Cutler's blind side, is 2014 seventh-round pick Charles Leno. The 23-year-old Boise State product played his first full NFL game in Week 4, filling in for eight-year veteran Jermon Bushrod, who was sidelined by a concussion and a shoulder injury. The right tackle is former guard Kyle Long, who didn't play a single snap at his new position in a game until he started there in Week 1.

At right guard is journeyman Vlad Ducasse who, before this season, had started just 11 games in his first five seasons despite being drafted in the second round in 2010. Seven-year veteran left guard Matt Slauson is the glue, with 74 starts, including 26 with the Bears.

What started out as a mostly veteran crew, has become - the Bears hope - an earlier-than-expected look at the O-line of the future.

Part of any position coach's job is molding young players into starters. But ideally that's done on a timetable designed by the team, not out of necessity because of injuries.

Magazu laughs when it's suggested that he loves the opportunity to mold young backups into starters because sometimes it's surprising to him and the older guys how much the young guys don't know.

"Yes, (it's fun) because they're good guys," he said. "The older guys are like me sometimes. They're like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' But they're working with the younger guys. They'll look at me sometimes like, 'I can't believe he said that.'

"But the young guys working their tails off. If they didn't work hard at it and they didn't give the effort, then it wouldn't be fun. And they're picking things up mentally from an assignment standpoint."

Grasu is the newest addition to the starting group and, since there are no other centers on the 53-man roster, he could be there for a long time. The four-year starter at Oregon received a grueling crash course during training camp, which is now coming in handy.

"He said, 'You (blank) near tried to kill me when we were in camp,' " Magazu said, smiling. He had a ton of work during camp (because) things are a lot different in the pro game, and the more looks that he could get (the better).

"I didn't want to kill Monty during camp, and we've got this young guy that we picked for a reason. We thought he was close to being NFL ready, but there were a lot of things that he had to learn. He started to melt a little bit like an ice cream cone during camp because he got so much work, but it's paid off. He's played really well and matched up well against some good players."

Leno played in six games last season, getting cameos when the Bears occasionally used six offensive linemen. Magazu said he recognized early on that the 6-foot-3, 302-pound Leno had the requisite tools.

"You could see the ability," he said. "You could see his work ethic. You could see his intelligence. But it wasn't clicking.

"It was kind of funny, but one day (a couple weeks ago) he comes up to me at practice and he goes, 'I think I've got it.' As long as they keep working it will happen."

The future success of the offense will depends on how quickly it happens for the Bears' young linemen.

Annual coat drive:

For the 27th year, the Bears and Chicago-area Jewel-Osco stores are joining forces for their annual winter coat drive.

Winter coats donated at any of the 184 participating Jewel-Osco locations benefit the efforts of The Salvation Army. Anyone in need of a coat can contact the Salvation Army at (773) 725-1100 or visit a Salvation Army thrift location.

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