Bears, Toub agree on 2-year extension

Even before Dave Toub interviewed to become head coach of the Dolphins, I thought he was gone.

There were several reasons to believe a divorce between the Bears and their longtime special teams coordinator was inevitable a few weeks ago. His contract was up. Son Shane graduates from Carmel High School this spring, making it more likely Toub would be willing to leave Chicago. And there was plenty of smoke about other teams being interested in elevating Toub — to a higher-ranking coordinator post, if not to a head-coaching position.

Despite all of that, and despite the Bears being in something of a state of flux with no general manager, Toub isn't going anywhere. He signed a 2-year extension with the team today. He'll be one of the highest-paid special teams coordinators in the NFL; that he isn't the highest is both a bit surprising and a bit unfair to me given the success that Toub's units have had and the respect he has around the league.

Under Toub, the Bears were third in the NFL in 2011 in comprehensive special-teams rankings; they may have finished higher if not for the late-season struggles of injured returner Devin Hester. According to the Chicago Tribune, they've finished in the top six in those rankings in five of the last six seasons.

Under Toub, Hester became perhaps the greatest return man in NFL history. Much more of that is a credit to Hester's own ability than to Toub, but Toub deserves some credit for turning a raw, inexperienced player into a dominant force. He's designedsuccessful blocking schemes that also turned Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox into successes briinging back kicks.

Under Toub, Robbie Gould has been one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL, and has gone (with the help of the new kickoff rules) from a marginal kickoff guy to a touchback machine. Adam Podlesh continued the success in the punting game this season that the Bears experienced, for the most part, during Brad Maynard's tenure.

The Bears' coverage teams are consistently good to excellent. Corey Graham has, like Brendon Ayanbadejo before him, has become a star on special teams; their out-of-nowhere emergence may be more due to Toub's system than to their own ability. Patrick Mannelly remains an extremely consistent long snapper, and it's a credit to Toub that long snapping didn't become a major issue when he was injured this season.