The Bears promoted from within on Friday, naming Chris Hanks to the post of head athletic trainer and Bobby Slater to assistant head trainerdirector of rehabilitation.
The moves follow long-time trainer Tim Bream leaving earlier this offseason for Penn State.
Hanks is entering his 13th season with the team after joining the Bears as an assistant athletic trainer in 2000.
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Prior to his time in Chicago, Hanks spent 11 years at the University of Richmond, including his final three and a half years (January 1997June 2000) as head athletic trainer. Hanks received a Bachelor of Sciences degree from Ohio University and a Master of Sports Management degree from Richmond.
Slater will be entering his 14th season with the Bears after arriving in Chicago in 1999 as an assistant athletic trainer. He was promoted to director of rehabilitation in 2002. Slater first worked with the Bears as a training camp intern in 1994, then served in the same capacity with the Miami Dolphins in 1995 and again with Chicago in 1998.
Prior to his time in Chicago, Slater was a graduate assistant athletic trainer from 1997-99 at Mississippi State University. He was also an athletic trainer at Lee Memorial Hospital (1997) and A. Kagan Orthopedics in Ft. Myers, Florida (1995-97). Slater received a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Southern College and a Master of Science degree from Mississippi State.