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Getting to know QBs coach John DeFilippo

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John DeFilippo joins the Bears as quarterbacks coach this year with 20 years of coaching experience, including 13 in the NFL.

Here are four things you should know about DeFilippo:

(1) As an offensive coordinator and position coach, DeFilippo has helped get the most out of quarterbacks with multiple NFL teams.

Under DeFilippo's tutelage, Josh McCown posted an impressive 93.3 passer rating for the Browns in 2015, Kirk Cousins passed for 3,298 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 99.7 rating for the Vikings in 2018 and rookie Gardner Minshew threw for 3,271 yards and 21 TDs with a 91.2 rating for the Jaguars last season. 

DeFilippo's greatest success, however, came in 2017 when he helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl after starting quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Wentz was named second-team All-Pro despite missing the final three games with a torn ACL. He completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 3,296 yards with 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 101.9 passer rating that ranked fourth in the NFL.

Nick Foles replaced the injured Wentz and threw for 971 yards and six touchdowns with a 115.7 rating in three postseason contests. Foles earned MVP honors in Super Bowl LII after passing for 373 yards and three TDs with a 106.1 rating in a 41-33 win over the Patriots.

Asking about the key to working with quarterbacks, DeFilippo said: "As a coach running that room, you have to be the same guy every day. That kind of rubs off on the players. You can't be too up and down. You've got to be the same guy whether you're going through a three-game winning streak or a three-game losing streak.

"The other thing is that no matter if the guy is a rookie or a 10-year veteran, your job as a quarterbacks coach or a coach in general is to cut out as much gray area as you can for that player because that allows that player to play fast."

(2) One of the most memorable aspects from the Eagles' Super Bowl run for DeFilippo was how the team overcame adversity.

"You don't remember the game as much as you remember the process of getting to the game," DeFilippo said. "The bond between coaches, the bond between players, the bond between the coaches and the players, the personnel department, everyone being on the same page, going through hard times.

"Every Super Bowl champion will tell you at some point during the season they had something to overcome. Our major thing was Carson Wentz going out with an ACL injury and having Nick Foles step up and other guys step up. Those are the things that you remember. You remember the hard times that you got through to be able to have that huge win."

(3) DeFilippo interviewed for the Bears' head-coaching job in 2018 that ultimately went to Matt Nagy. 

DeFilippo was impressed with how organized general manager Ryan Pace, chairman George H. McCaskey and president/CEO Ted Phillips were during the day-long session.

"They were awesome," DeFilippo said. "It was just a really neat process to go through. It was like a five-and-a-half or six-hour interview and it felt like about 45 minutes. It was just fun talking football with those guys, and I think when you get like-minded people in a room together, the conversation can go pretty smooth."

(4) DeFilippo is a big supporter of animal rescue organizations, especially Street Tails Animal Rescue in Philadelphia.

DeFilippo and his wife own two rescued dogs, a French bulldog and a Labrador-Pug mix. The dogs don't know it now, but they'll be welcoming a new member of the family in August—that's when the DeFilippos are expecting their first child.

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