On May 3, 2012, the Bears decided to waive him after selecting free safety Brandon Hardin in the 2012 NFL Draft. Despite his short tenure on the Bears, Venable managed to carry over the reputation as a hard-hitting defensive back he had earned in college. Said Lance Briggs when discussing the Bears lack of consistency at the safety position during the 2011 season "So between those guys, and whoever gets back there and plays, even if it's Winston Venable, I know one thing that Winston's going to do. He's going to hit somebody. So we're confident in the guys we have back there." CFL Montreal Alouettes On October 3, 2012, Venable signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. In 2014, he amassed 52 defensive tackles including a career-high of nine in a game against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Venable also recovered a league-high four fumbles and recorded 14 special teams tackles. Venable continued to be a major contributor for the Als in the following two seasons, totaling 191 tackles and 12 sacks in 35 games. Following the 2016 season Venable was not re-signed by Montreal and became a free agent on February 14, 2017. Toronto Argonauts On February 15, 2017, Venable signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League as a free agent. On May 31, 2017 (at the start of training camp), Venable announced his retirement. Coaching career Following his retirement, Venable returned to Boise State to complete his degree. During that time, he often showed up at the Broncos practices and volunteering in various capabilities. Venable was hired to be the Broncos player development coordinator in June 2018. He was named the assistant director of player performance in 2019 and was later promoted to running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator in 2020. References External links Boise State Broncos bio 1987 births Living people American football safeties Boise State Broncos football players Canadian football defensive backs American players of Canadian football Chicago Bears players Montreal Alouettes players Toronto Argonauts players Players of American football from California Sportspeople from San Rafael, California Glendale Vaqueros football players Boise State Broncos football coaches