Bear Digest

Ben Johnson Makes Controversial Choice for New Bears' OC

Replacing Declan Doyle was never going to be easy, but this decision is a head-scratcher.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have their new offensive coordinator, but the fanbase is almost certainly going to be split on this latest hire. In their quest to replace former offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, the Bears are making an internal hire, promoting passing game coordinator Press Taylor. NFL insider Ian Rapoport broke the news first early on Sunday morning with a post from his X account.

Whoever the Bears' new offensive coordinator was going to be, it always felt like it would be a bit out of left field. After all, Johnson took a big risk by hiring Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator last year, when Doyle was just a 28-year-old tight ends coach from Denver. He requested an interview with Arizona's passing game specialist Connor Senger last week, but obviously the 30-year-old Senger did not get the job.

Press Taylor's complicated track record

While it makes sense to hire an offensive coordinator who is already familiar with Ben Johnson's system and the players who run it, this move could very well come back to bite the head coach. Yes, Johnson will still be calling the plays and this is still his offense, but Taylor doesn't exactly come with a glowing resume.

In Jacksonville, Taylor split play calling duties with head coach Doug Pederson in their first year on the job in 2022. In that year, quarterback Trevor Lawrence finally looked like the generational quarterback he was supposed to be when the Jaguars selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

That season went so well that Pederson gave full play-calling duties to Taylor starting in 2023, and that's when Jacksonville's decline began. Lawrence's play suffered, and he never recaptured the magic of that 2022 season. By the end of the 2024 season, Pederson had been fired and Taylor left with him. According to Jacksonville reporting, it was that decision to give play-calling duties to Taylor where things went wrong for Pederson.

Can Taylor succeed as a non-play-calling coordinator?

As aforementioned, Johnson will still be calling the plays in Chicago, and that's never going to change. Without that additional duty, there's a good chance that Taylor can succeed as the offensive coordinator. Taylor's job will be to set the table, so to speak, in the weekly practices and help Johnson prepare for the upcoming opponent. In that regard, Taylor has plenty of experience.

But there's still the poor optics from Jacksonville's decline in 2023 and 2024 clouding any optimism around Taylor's future with the Bears. The fans are just going to have to trust Ben Johnson the way they trusted him with Doyle a year ago.

Ben Johnso
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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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