Bear Digest

3 most important additions to Ben Johnson's Chicago Bears coaching staff

Every member of the Chicago Bears' coaching staff will have an important role to play, but there are a few in particular who will be instrumental in building a contender.
Pete Martuneac|
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The coaching staff for the Chicago Bears is officially set for 2025, the Bears announced on Thursday. By all accounts, this is a good group with a mixture of reliable, experienced coaches and young up-and-comers.

Obviously the most important jobs after the head coach are the coordinators, especially the young Declan Doyle, but that doesn't mean that the two dozen assistant coaches don't have a big role to play in their own right. Three of them in particular will need to be standouts in their roles if the Bears are to have sustained success.

Antwaan Randle El - Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach

'Assistant head coach' is not a meaningless title. NFL coaches who earn this role are typically young guys that the front office has identified as coaches with a brighter future than most. By naming Randle El the assistant head coach, it's clear that Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles see him as a future head coach in his own right.

But that's for the future. For now, Randle El will be charged with developing Rome Odunze and any other young receivers the Bears add to the roster. Odunze had a solid year as a WR3 in a dysfunctional offense, but he still has room to grow into an elite receiver and it falls on Randle El to make that happen.

antwaan randle el
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Dan Roushar - Offensive line coach

If it feels like the Bears haven't had a good offensive line in several years, that's because it has, in fact, been several years. While some of that has to do with a failure to invest heavily in the unit, a lot of blame still falls on coaching. The previous offensive line coach simply didn't get the most out of his players.

Expect that to change with Roushar. He's been doing this for 36 years, and it is now his duty to turn Chicago's biggest weakness into a strength. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the Bears need Roushar to succeed in this role almost as much as they need Johnson to succeed in his.

Dan Roushar
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

J.T. Barrett - Quarterbacks coach

This one should be obvious. As Caleb Williams goes, so go the Chicago Bears. He's the key to the Bears finding sustained success for the first time since the 1980's. Some of that pressure falls on his shoulders, as he needs to put in the work and perform on the field. But a sizable portion is also at the feet of his new quarterbacks coach.

Like Randle El, Barrett followed Johnson to Chicago. A newcomer to the NFL coaching world, he's only been doing this since 2022 but is obviously highly regarded by Johnson. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant quarterback coach with Jared Goff in Detroit, during which time Goff played an MVP-caliber.

Now, Barrett will once again be tasked with getting the most out of a former first-overall pick. Bears fans better hope he's up to the task.

J.T. Barrett
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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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