Anthony Blevins joins the Bears in 2025 in an assistant special teams capacity.
Blevins brings 21 years of coaching experience, including a decade on NFL sidelines, to Chicago. Prior to spending a portion of the 2024 season with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, Blevins spent five years with the Arizona Cardinals (2013-17) as their assistant special teams coach, before a five-season tenure with the New York Giants (2018-22) in a variety of roles, working with the special teams units, linebackers and defensive backs over his tenure with New York.
Blevins aided a Birmingham Stallions defense that propelled the team to their third-straight league championship, first as a member of the United Football League. The Stallions started the 2024 season winning each of their first eight games, holding opponents to less than 20 points in each of their first five outings. Closing out the season strong, Birmingham's defense held the opposition again to less than 20 points in both postseason games, including a 25-0 shutout victory in the UFL Championship over the San Antonio Brahmas.
Over his five seasons with the Giants, Blevins occupied a variety of roles on New York's coaching staff. Bookending his tenure with the Giants in an assistant special teams capacity, Blevins transitioned to assistant defensive backs coach in 2020, before moving to tutor the linebackers in an assistant linebackers/special teams assistant role in 2021. Returning to coach special teams for New York in 2022, Blevins aided a Giants team that made the postseason and defeated the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card tilt to earn a berth in the NFC Divisional Round. In 2021, Blevins contributed to a linebackers group that featured LB Tae Crowder leading the team with 130 tackles, as rookie LB Azeez Ojulari set the franchise's rookie record with eight sacks. The Giants also held opponents to a league-low 17.8 yards per kickoff return, as Gano kicked a Giants-record seven field goals of 50+ yards. As assistant defensive backs coach in 2020, the Giants' pass defense jumped from 28th in the league in 2019 to a tie for 16th, as CB James Bradberry was selected to his first Pro Bowl after tying for second in the NFL with 18 passes defensed.
Over his first two seasons with New York, the Giants were fourth and 10th, respectively, in the NFL in punt (9.8 yards) and kickoff (23.5 yards) return average, as his group led the league in 2019 by allowing an average return of just 18.1 yards per kickoff return and the punt coverage team was tied for fifth as opponents averaged only 5.7 yards a return. In his first season with New York, Blevins' unit featured K Aldrick Rosas, who was selected to the Pro Bowl and was named AP Second-Team All-Pro after making 32 of 33 field goal attempts.
Before his time with the Giants, Blevins spent five years with the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching assistant/special teams coach. Blevins contributed to a staff that helped special teamer Justin Bethel get selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls (2013-15) after leading the team in special teams tackles each season. In 2013 and 2015, Bethel was named first-team All-NFL by the Pro Football Writers Association. All-Pro K Chandler Catanzaro tied the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals to begin a career (17) and established a franchise rookie record with 114 points in 2014. The following season, Catanzaro finished third in the NFL with 137 points, which was also the second-highest single-season total in franchise history. In 2017, Blevins coached rookie S Budda Baker, who was selected as the NFC special teams representative in the Pro Bowl. Baker led the Cardinals with 16 special teams tackles and was selected All-Pro by the AP and the Pro Football Writers Association.
Blevins spent the 2012 season as the cornerbacks coach at his alma mater, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which followed three seasons at Tennessee State University (2009-11) where he coached special teams and tutored the cornerbacks. Over his tenure, Blevins also served as the recruiting coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Martin (2008), where he also led the cornerbacks group. Blevins entered the collegiate coaching ranks in 2005 at Mississippi State University, serving as a graduate assistant.
Returning to Chicago in 2025, Blevins previously took part in the NFL's Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship, spending time with the Bears in 2024 and 2008, as well as with the Cardinals (2010) and Indianapolis Colts (2011).
Blevins, who started his coaching career at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett, Ga., in 2003, played professionally for the Mobile Admirals of the Regional Football League (1999), the Birmingham Steeldogs of AFL2 (2000) and for the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the XFL from 2000-01.
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Blevins graduated from UAB in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and later earned a master's in instructional technology in 2006 from Mississippi State. In 2015, Blevins returned to Mississippi State, where he earned a PhD in instructional systems & workforce development.
