Chicago Bears hire Dave Ragone as quarterbacks coach
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) The Chicago Bears have hired Dave Ragone as quarterbacks coach to work under new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.
The team announced the move Friday. Loggains was promoted from quarterbacks coach to coordinator nearly two weeks ago, filling into Adam Gase's vacated position after Gase was hired as the Miami Dolphins' head coach.
Ragone has coached four seasons in the NFL. He was an offensive quality control coach for Washington last season after spending three years as an assistant for Tennessee, coaching receivers in 2011 and 2012 and quarterbacks in 2013. He overlapped in Tennessee with Loggains, who worked with the Titans from 2006 to 2013.
In Washington, Ragone worked on a coaching staff that helped Kirk Cousins post the fifth highest passer rating in the league (101.6) and an NFL-best 69.8 completion percentage.
The Bears went 6-10 last season in their first year under coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace.
Quarterback Jay Cutler, however, had one of his steadiest seasons as a pro under Gase and Loggains after clashing with previous assistants. He finished with a career-high 92.3 passer rating and cut his interceptions from 18 to 11 in 15 games. His 64.4 percent completion rate, 2.3 percent interception rate and 7.58 yards passing per attempt were all the second best of his career.
---
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL