Bear Digest

One big problem already on the horizon for Bears' coaching staff

After a wildly successful 2025 season, the Chicago Bears are in danger of a coaching 'brain drain'
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

If you had told Chicago Bears fans back in August that, by Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season, they'd be in the driver's seat of the NFC North with a chance to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed for the playoffs, you would have likely been laughed out of the room. But that's exactly where the situation now stands. With a win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17, the Bears can clinch the NFC North and be one step closer to the No. 1 seed, though they'll need a bit of help from the Seahawks to get that.

While this has been a fun season for Bears fans, watching their team defy all expectations, the real test begins in just a few months. The rest of the league has taken notice of the way head coach Ben Johnson transformed this team, and you can bet your bottom dollar that some teams will be hoping to recreate that magic. What better way to do what the Bears did than to hire some of their coaches?

That's the problem that looms for Johnson and his staff: brain drain. According to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, the Bears "are braced for a potential raiding of the Chicago staff this winter". The biggest potential loss for Chicago is widely believed to be defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Al Harris.

Lions could hit back at Chicago for their coaching staff raid of 2025

Chicago's historic turnover differential this year has wallpapered over some serious structural flaws on defense, and Harris is the man to thank for that. Losing him would be a major blow to this unit, and he's not the only coach who could be considered for a promotion by another team. Jones also names running back coach Eric Bieniemy (who has revitalized D'Andre Swift and turned seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai into an absolute juggernaut) and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett as potential targets.

Also, in a bit of irony, the Detroit Lions will likely be in the market for a new offensive coordinator this offseason. After Ben Johnson raided his staff in 2025, could Dan Campbell return the favor in 2026?

Ben Johnso
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ben Johnson's offense won't be going anywhere

Luckily for Bears fans, they don't have to worry about the kind of downfall the Lions are experiencing this year. One of the biggest perks of hiring an offensive guru who calls his own plays, like Ben Johnson, is that there is zero risk of losing him. He's the head coach, there's nowhere else for him to go. He may lose some respected, capable assistants, but his offense isn't going anywhere.

It's the situation around offensive coordinator Declan Doyle that will be most intriguing. The 29-year-old has already been named as a potential head coaching candidate in the near future. While it's extremely unlikely to happen in this hiring cycle, he could see the kind of meteoric rise that accompanied Ben Johnson in Detroit.

Regardless of which coaches return in 2026, however, Bears fans just have to trust in Ben Johnson to hire capable replacements. Losing guys like Al Harris or Eric Bieniemy would suck, but part of the head coaching job is hiring good assitants. If Johnson is truly Chicago's next great head coach, he'll bring the right people into the building.

Ben Johnso
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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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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