Last offseason, the Bears underwent a major overhaul on the sidelines and in various parts of the roster. Expectations increased considerably for Year 2 of the Caleb Williams era, and it is certainly fair to say they were met.
The 2025 Bears made a habit of winding up on the right side of games decided in the closing moments through a run to the divisional round of the playoffs. The connection between Williams and new head coach Ben Johnson developed over time, and a much-improved offensive line yielded needed upgrades. There is nevertheless work to be done this spring if Chicago is to become a consistent postseason contender.
Coaching/front office:
- Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle accepted Ravens' OC position
- Press Taylor promoted as OC replacement
- Assistant general manger Ian Cunningham hired as Falcons' GM
- Jeff King promoted as assistant GM replacement
- Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy hired as Chiefs' offensive coordinator
- Eric Studesville hired as RBs coach
- DBs coach Al Harris interviewed for Commanders, Packers, Titans' DC vacancies
Doyle was an important member of Johnson’s initial staff, taking on the OC gig as part of his ongoing career ascension. The former Saints and Broncos staffer did not call plays during his one-and-done stint in Chicago, though. That proved to be a critical factor as the 2026 hiring cycle played out.
Brisker seems like too big an injury risk with all his concussions. Glad he finally stopped using his head for a battering ram and learned how to tackle. Byard seems like a big regression candidate to me. Jackson(LB), McFadden, Robinson, Smythe and Stromberg seem like reasonable depth pieces to me. I think I’d waive goodbye to Wright and Gardener Johnson. I think they can do better. They need to sign and draft at least 2 Safeties and 2 LB’s to go with What they have if they take a chance on Byard. I’d toss around moving Gordon to Safety to help out. I’ve always thought Owens deserved more of a shot. Hopefully Poles can get out his calculator and renegotiate some Cap Space to allow for some more FA’s to fill holes. They need a few more draft picks too. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be they just need to be smart and not push a ton of money down the road and become the N.O. Saints. Nobody needs that.
Interesting if they keep Moore on offense? Can Odunze and Burden step up? Not sure about Odunze. I think they will keep Swift but doubt they have the cap space to replace him with K Walker who is explosive but not a blocker. Kmet might be gone as well. You dont believe Gardner-Johnson could be better with another year, Mike?
My thoughts on the WR’s kind of run like this. If you trade Moore now you’re basically just trying to lose his Cap hit so you’re selling at a loss. Why not hopefully renegotiate it down and accomplish the same thing? Odunze and Burden can be difference makers. I really like Jahdae Walker. I like him way more than Zaccheus who drops way too many passes. I think they can be fine at WR whether Moore is here or not. I don’t think they can afford to attach assets to Moore just to get rid of him. It’s an interesting problem. As for Gardener-Johnson he’s on the decline and has been for a bit. Before you can call a decision on him I’d have to know what is with Frazier, Smith, Jaylon Jones, Stevenson and Gordon. Is Gordon still the plan at nickel? Is Smith done? Is Jones just a ST guy? is Frazier alive? Is he a figment of my imagination? I have every faith in Al Harris to make whoever they give him better. I just think there are too many unanswered questions right now. I just think they can do better. I’m just glad Al Harris didn’t leave because the DB’s need sorting out.
An improved pass rush would help the secondary a lot. But they have questions back there. Even though Gardner-Johnson made a handful of impact plays he was totally exposed by speedy WRs. So was Wright. Is Smith gonna be able to stay healthy? Which Stephenson will show up? Will pro bowl Johnson be back to that level? They also need better pass defense from the safeties where they were ranked 29th last season.
It’s going to be very difficult for the Bears to duplicate the turnover advantage that helped them last season but I’ll boldly predict that they have more success than the White Sox 🙂
Indy Bears has a ring to it.