Before joining the Cowboys coaching staff in 2013, Rod Marinelli spent the previous three seasons as Chicago’s defensive coordinator.
The Bears finished top five in the NFL in takeaways all three years, including first in 2012 with 44. Marinelli’s penchant for forcing turnovers carried over to the Cowboys as they went from only 16 takeaways in 2012 to 28 in 2013 and 31, tops in the NFC, in 2014.
Those impressive numbers are a big reason linebacker Jasper Brinkley signed a two-year, $6.5 million deal with the Cowboys in March.
“I played in Minnesota for five years and I remember when he was in Chicago, just thinking about those defenses and the guys with the takeaways, a lot of takeaways,” Brinkley said.