Staff finally comes together

The Bears have finally completed their coaching staff.

It's been a full month since offensive coordinator Ron Turner, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, tight ends coach Rob Boras and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton were fired on Jan. 5, but head coach Lovie Smith's staff is up to full strength. At that time, Smith also said a defensive coordinator and play-caller would be added to assume the duties that he handled last season with little success.

The crew was completed on Friday afternoon when, as expected, assistant head coach/defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was given the defensive coordinator duties, while ceding the defensive line job to Eric Washington, the assistant defensive line coach the past two years. Marinelli will still be involved with coaching the defensive line on a daily basis.

"I'm very excited," Marinelli said. "The defensive staff has all worked together, so it's just a chance to keep going and build on the subtleties of our system. We've all been in it together, and I think the familiarity will help."

Shane Day, who interviewed Wednesday, was named quarterbacks coach Friday, although new offensive coordinator Mike Martz will be very involved with the quarterbacks. Day, 35, spent the past three seasons as a quality control coach with the San Francisco 49ers. In 2008, he worked with Martz, who was the 49ers' offensive coordinator.

Day also worked with new Bears tight ends coach Mike DeBord at Michigan in 2005-06, serving as assistant quarterbacks and quality control coach and assisting in breaking down opponents' film and in recruiting. DeBord was hired on Tuesday. Former Minnesota Vikings head coach and Jacksonville Jaguars assistant head coach Mike Tice was hired as the Bears' offensive line coach on Jan. 15.

Washington, 40, was Northwestern's defensive line coach for four years before joining the Bears.

Marinelli, who retains his title as assistant head coach, joined the Bears a year ago after spending the previous three seasons as head coach of the Detroit Lions. When Smith was hired as the Bears' head coach in 2004, he wanted Marinelli as his defensive coordinator. But the Buccaneers declined to allow their long-time defensive line coach (1996-2005) out of his contract.

"From the first day I became head coach of the Chicago Bears, I envisioned Rod as our defensive coordinator," Smith said on the team's web site. "I considered him for the role last year but wanted him to have the opportunity to work exclusively with our defensive line and become acclimated to our team. He will remain in our defensive line room, but will add the responsibility of the defensive calls on game day.

"Rod is among the best defensive coaches in the NFL and will be an excellent defensive coordinator for us. We considered outside possibilities, but I didn't feel our defense would benefit the same way it will with Rod in the coordinator role."

Perry Fewell was the only candidate who interviewed for the defensive coordinator job other than Marinelli. But Fewell instead accepted the defensive coordinator position with the New York Giants.

The Bears on Friday also named Andrew Hayes-Stoker, 31, offensive quality control coach and Smith's oldest son, Mikal, as defensive quality control coach. Hayes-Stoker was a football operations assistant last season, while Smith, 33, was an administrative assistant.

Meanwhile, most of the exiled Bears coaches have landed new jobs. Turner is joining the Stanford staff of former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh. Boras was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as their tight ends coach. Hiestand caught on as the offensive line coach at the University of Tennessee and Hamilton has been mentioned as a candidate for an offensive job at the University of Virginia.