Brad Childress joins Chicago Bears after ‘retirement’ from NFL

The retirement of Brad Childress was pretty short lived with word that the former Kansas City Chiefs coach has joined the staff of the Chicago Bears.

Well, that didn’t last long.

Brad Childress announced one week ago that he was retiring from the National Football League after rumors surfaced shortly after the new year. It was yet another senior voice to disappear from the Kansas City Chiefs offense over the last few years, a group that also includes Chicago Bears head coach Mike Nagy and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

However, several days later, Childress is apparently set to resurface in a new role in the NFL, as part of Nagy’s staff with the Chicago Bears. Per Adam Caplan:

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Childress certainly brings a valuable voice to the Bears offense given his head coaching experience and decades of perspective in the NFL overall. Nagy, as a brand new coach, could use someone like Childress around as a senior advisor, so the move makes sense on all fronts—except for one. Why retire in the first place?

Did Childress try out retirement for a few days and realize he’d made a grave mistake? Did he try to rejoin the Chiefs only to find Andy Reid had moved on? Did Reid tell Childress he was fired if he didn’t leave of his own accord? What were the machinations behind this move?

No matter the reasons, Childress is back in the NFL after the shortest retirement ever, and Nagy has a trusted friend and advisor to join him in the Windy City.