BREAKING NEWS: Chicago Bears Have Completed The Signing of Former Buccaneers QB as offensive assistant

Following a terrible 7-10 campaign in the 2023 NFL season, it was believed that the Chicago Bears would make numerous changes to their coaching staff ahead of the 2024 season. It began with the hire of new coordinators on both sides of the ball, including former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and Eric Washington, who coached Buffalo’s defensive line last season. Then came a slew of new hires, including the historic appointment of assistant running backs coach Jennifer King, the first female coach in Chicago Bears history. Ryan Griffin, a former quarterback for the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the latest addition to this increasing list.

“Another player-to-coach transition: The #Bears have hired former #Bucs QB Ryan Griffin as an offensive assistant,”

Griffin was in the NFL from 2013 to 2022, playing two seasons in New Orleans and another eight in Tampa Bay. Despite a decade in the league, Griffin appeared in only one game and attempted four passes. Nonetheless, Griffin’s NFL experience allowed him to learn first from Drew Brees and then from Tom Brady, whom Griffin would later assist in tripping over a boat during the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl triumph parade in 2021.

The logical question I had after reading this news was, “So what ties does Griffin have with the rest of the Bears coaching staff,” and, maybe more crucially, “Are there any ties with either Caleb Williams or Justin Fields?

The only link I could uncover between Ryan Griffin and anyone on the Bears’ offensive coaching staff was Kerry Joseph, who arrived from Seattle alongside new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Joseph worked as a training camp intern for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, when Ryan Griffin was on the team, and he will now coach the Bears’ quarterbacks. On the other hand, I discovered that Griffin attended Chaminade College Prep in Los Angeles as a high school student and grew up in Santa Monica. Is there a California link to Caleb Williams that I am not aware of? Maybe I’m simply grabbing at straws.