In the final of nine position previews in advance of training camp, coordinator Dave Toub discusses the Bears special teams.

Devin Hester set the bar ridiculously high in his first two seasons, breaking NFL records with five kick return TDs in 2006 and six in 2007. After he failed to reach the end zone on special teams last year, what’s the plan to get him back on track? 

Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI 92 yards for a touchdown.

He’s going to be a starter [at receiver] and I think he feels a lot more comfortable with the offense now. So I think that returning can come back into the forefront for him. He wants to be back there. He showed that during OTAs and the offseason.

Will the approach with him be any different?

Not really. Late last season we talked a lot about taking the ball and getting north and south, hitting returns and getting your 10 yards, and then anything after that is a bonus. I think he’s on board with what we’re talking about. Most importantly, some of our young guys on special teams are now older, so we have a real good nucleus of guys having a year under their belt. Those young players now are going to be taking another step. And he was hitting his stride toward the end of last year. We busted a couple of long  returns.

What do you think accounted for his decline in the return game and how confident are you that he will regain the form he displayed in 2006-07?

I think it was a combination of a couple of things. We had a lot of young players blocking for him, so he had a different picture of what was in front of him. And then taking a lot of reps at wide receiver was a factor too. But he’s still the same guy. He still makes people miss. He’s got great vision. He’s still a threat back there. He still has a lot of respect from other teams. Teams aren’t going to just want to punt him the ball, I guarantee that.

How much of a luxury was it for you to be able to replace Devin on kickoff returns with someone like Danieal Manning, who ended up leading the NFL with a 29.7-yard average?

We’re very fortunate to have two guys at such a high level. Danieal is a Pro Bowl-caliber kick returner. The way he finished up last year in the last seven games was unbelievable. He’s so strong and tough. We’re lucky to have two guys. I wouldn’t feel bad having Devin back there also. He’s still better than 95 percent of the returners out there.

What makes Danieal such a good kick returner?

His courage, the way he gets north and south, and his strength and speed. 

How fortunate are you to have such elite specialists in kicker Robbie Gould, punter Brad Maynard and long-snapper Patrick Mannelly?

We’re so lucky to have those guys; every one of them is a true professional. They complement each other so well, Pat being so consistent with his snaps and Brad’s hands with the holds. That’s one thing that Robbie doesn’t have to worry about. All he worries about is what direction he’s going to kick the ball and management of the wind. He doesn’t have to worry about the hold or the snap, and that relieves a lot of pressure. Sometimes we take those guys for granted, but they’re the base for everything we do on special teams.

What do you work on with someone like Robbie—a young kicker who’s had so much success early in his career?

Just the finer points. We try to develop different kickoffs. [Assistant special teams coach] Chris Tabor calls it putting more clubs in your bag. That’s all we do with Robbie. He was very consistent as he always is during the OTAs. He was in the high 90-percentile in every team kick. Our guys feel that he’s automatic.

Who do you envision will emerge as your top contributor on the coverage and return teams this season?

Right now I’d have to say that Jamar Williams is stepping forward. He wants to be that leader, and he did that during the OTAs and offseason. He wants to be a Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player if that’s his role. If he’s not a starter, he will be pushing for that. He’s going to be our leader.

Who else?

No matter how it pans out at linebacker, I’m going to be happy with Pisa [Tinoisamoa], Nick Roach, Hunter Hillenmeyer or Joey LaRocque. All of those guys can be solid contributors on special teams. And Garrett Wolfe was our leading tackler last year, and for a running back to be your leading tackler, that’s special. That’s good for your unit, and I expect nothing less.

Which rookies are most likely to contribute on special teams this year?

I really like what I’ve seen from Johnny Knox. He’s really improved as a catcher on punts. He caught them well in team drills in the OTAs. He didn’t put any on the ground, so I’m excited to see him in the preseason. Marcus Freeman played a lot on the punt team because we had injuries at linebacker during OTAs, and I’m excited to see him as well.