This Chicago Bears offseason upgrade stands above the rest as training camp approaches

Of all the 2025 NFL offseason upgrades the Chicago Bears have made, one stands above the rest as a reason for optimism.

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The list of Chicago Bears 2025 offseason upgrades is a long one. And it has Bears fans really excited.

The offensive line was reinforced with Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman. Second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo has a chance to play right away, too.

The pass-catchers were leveled up with Colston Loveland in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and Luther Burden III, a receiver many analysts had pegged as a first-rounder, in the second round.

The defensive line has a new edge rusher in Dayo Odeyingbo and two impressive defensive tackles in Grady Jarrett and second-round pick Shemar Turner.

But of all the upgrades the Chicago Bears made during the 2025 NFL offseason, one stands above the rest as a source of optimism: the hiring of head coach Ben Johnson.

CBS Sports broke down one reason for optimism for every NFL squad, and Johnson topped the list for the Bears.

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"Arguably, the biggest addition throughout this entire offseason was the Chicago Bears landing Ben Johnson as head coach," CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan wrote. "In just his first offseason at the helm, you can already see his imprint on the roster with Chicago bolstering its offensive line and adding an array of weapons for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. Johnson has shown us during his days as the Lions' offensive coordinator that he's a tremendous play caller, and that is widely expected to translate to being a head coach. Chicago's days in the dumps may be a thing of the past.

Chicago Bears fans aren't used to a head coach like Johnson. Matt Eberflus was a walking disaster. His predecessor, Matt Nagy, wasn't much better. And he replaced John Fox, who was counting down the days until retirement when he manned the sideline. Before Fox was Marc Trestman, who, until Eberflus came along, was the undisputed worst coach in franchise history.

That's 12 straight seasons of coaching ineptitude. So, yeah, Ben Johnson changes the game in Chicago, and the optimism he's injected into the fanbase is very, very real.

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