The Chicago Bears made the altogether unexpected decision this offseason, after cleaning house on the Marc Trestman-Phil Emery era, to tab Vic Fangio as their latest defensive coordinator under new head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace.
The Bears, a team long known for a stout 4-3 defense will now look to make the notoriously difficult transition to a 3-4 - Fangio's preferred base alignment.
Chicago has set itself on a path that will require at least a season or two of reshaping in order to see the full fruits of its labors - though there's nothing that says the Bears can't field a quality defense next year. But no matter what scheme the team chooses to employ, the group is in dire need of some added athleticism and pass-rush punch.
To that end, Ross Tucker of NBCSN believes that Fox and Fangio may target a specific lanky pass-rusher out of Nebraska with the seventh selection in the first round of April's 2015 NFL Draft.
"Randy Gregory is a guy who John Fox will target with the 7th pick," Tucker said, per Walter Football.
Last season, the typically strong Bears defense finished 30th in the NFL in total defense, allowing an average of 377.1 yards per game to their opponents. They also finished the year with just 39 sacks, good enough to wind up smack dab in the middle of the pack.
Gregory - who recently tested positive for marijuana at the NFL's rookie scouting combine - finished last season for the Cornhuskers with 54 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three passes broken up, one interception, one forced fumble and two blocked kicked/punts.
Gregory is incredibly raw but boasts incredible physical gifts and projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker at the NFL level thanks to his "length, toughness and closing speed," according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
With Jared Allen pretty long in the tooth - and reportedly not a fan of the 3-4 - Fangio has his work cut out for him to add 3-4-specific talent outside of the recently acquired Pernell McPhee.
Fox's surprise decision to go with Fangio isn't questionable based on the former San Francisco 49ers ability to create and employ a defensive scheme or even to call a game - during his four year run in San Fran his units never finished outside the top-10 in total points or yards per game.
It was a surprise in the fact that Fangio is a long-time proponent of the 3-4. As has been proven time and again, it is no easy proposition to make the transition from one base to the other - different players who perform different tasks and even at altogether different positions are suddenly required.
An emphasis is placed on pass-rushing outside linebackers, a larger nose tackle is generally utilized and defensive ends able to neutralize the offensive lineman across from them, read the play, then flow to the ball are needed.
While some key pieces are already in place for Chicago - mediocre defensive end Shea McClellin is probably salivating at his expected move to outside linebacker - the transition takes time and the injection of a whole new group of talent.
The potential addition of Gregory would go a long way toward easing Fangio and the rest of the group's transformation and immediately upgrade the pass-rusher position for the Bears.
