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Bears hire Cardinals assistant Dray as tight ends coach

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) - The Chicago Bears hired Arizona assistant Jim Dray as tight ends coach on Monday.

Dray joins new coach Matt Eberflus' staff after spending the past three seasons as an offensive quality control coach - with Cleveland in 2019 and the Cardinals in 2020 and '21. He was an offensive assistant at Stanford, his alma mater, in 2018.

The 35-year-old Dray played eight seasons in the NFL as a tight end with the Cardinals (2010-13 and 2017), Cleveland (2014-15), Buffalo (2016) and San Francisco (2016). He caught 56 passes for 605 yards and three touchdowns in 94 games.

The Bears also hired Austin King as assistant offensive line coach. He recently completed his first season as the Las Vegas Raiders' tight ends coach after serving as offensive quality control coach for them in 2020.

Chicago went 6-11 this season.

Eberflus is in his first NFL head coaching job, replacing the fired Matt Nagy, after he spent the past four years as Indianapolis defensive coordinator. Chicago has a new general manager, too, with Ryan Poles taking over for Ryan Pace.

The Bears also announced Monday they are raising season-ticket package prices by 6% because they are scheduled to play a ninth regular-season home game instead of a second preseason matchup at Soldier Field. The team said the increase is 'Å“is due solely to the variable pricing aspect of the ticket package with the addition of a regular-season home game in place of a preseason home game in 2022."

The renewal deadline is March 18.

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