New Bears defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni is thrilled to join one of the NFL's founding franchises and is eager to help the defense rebound from a difficult season.
"I'm very, very excited to be here," Pasqualoni told ChicagoBears.com in a video interview. "There's no greater tradition in pro football than the Chicago Bears; outstanding organization, outstanding coaches, great leadership at the top with coach [Marc] Trestman and the staff. I'm just excited to be here and to try to help them be a small part of it."
Pasqualoni, 64, is a long-time college coach who has six years of NFL experience. He served as Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2008-09 and was promoted by the Cowboys from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator midway through the 2010 season after Wade Phillips was fired.
After serving as head coach at Syracuse from 1991-2004, Pasqualoni entered the NFL as a position coach with the Cowboys, working with tight ends (2005) and linebackers (2006-07). At Syracuse, he compiled a 107-59-1 record and coached future NFL stars Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney.
Joining the Bears, Pasqualoni is happy about getting a chance to coach the defensive line.
"I've coached on both sides of the ball in this league and in college," Pasqualoni said. "But I'm probably a little bit more of a defensive personality and defensive temperament guy.
"I'm just excited about the prospects here at the defensive line position—we have some very good players here—and the chance to develop them and really the impact that the defensive line can have on the game. In the game of football there's a saying that it starts up front on both sides of the ball, so we're excited about being here and trying to improve and help the defensive side."
