The Bears on Thursday announced the hiring of Clancy Barone as tight ends coach.
Barone, 56, boasts 32 years of coaching experience, his first 17 at the collegiate level and the last 15 in the NFL. He entered the pro ranks with the Falcons as offensive line coach in 2004 before becoming Atlanta's tight ends coach in 2005-06.
Barone then served as Chargers tight ends coach (2007-08) before spending the next eight seasons with the Broncos, coaching tight ends for five years and the offensive line for three. He most recently worked for the Vikings, coaching tight ends in 2017 before moving to the offensive line in 2018 following the sudden death of line coach Tony Sparano.
As a tight ends coach, Barone has had four players voted to the Pro Bowl with four different teams: the Falcons' Alge Crumpler, the Chargers' Antonio Gates, the Broncos' Julius Thomas and the Vikings' Kyle Rudolph.
The Broncos made the playoffs in five of Barone's eight seasons with the team, winning a pair of AFC championships. After losing the Super Bowl to the Seahawks in 2013, Denver won the Super Bowl over the Panthers in 2015.
Prior to joining the NFL, Barone served as a college offensive line coach at American River (1987-90), his alma mater Sacramento State (1991-92), Texas A&M (1993), Eastern Illinois (1994-96), Wyoming (1997-99), Houston (2000-02) and Texas State (2003).
Barone worked at Eastern Illinois when Bears general manager Ryan Pace played defensive end at the school. Barone, who doubled as EIU's recruiting coordinator, was quoted about what he saw from Pace as a high school player in a story in the Mattoon (Ill.) Journal Gazette on March 5, 1995, saying: "He showed good toughness on film. He was quick and a good athlete."
