The Franchise Fix: Chicago Bears

Christian Williams attempts to fix the Chicago Bears following the firing of HC Matt Eberflus.

Chicago Bears fans had high hopes, and Bears players had huge aspirations. The leadership team undoubtedly believed the team could compete for, at the very least, the seventh seed and the team’s first playoff berth since Mitchell Trubisky was under center. Instead, the Bears have moved on from their offensive coordinator and head coach midseason — a franchise first, as that combination had never happened in the 105-year franchise history — and will begin their search for Caleb Williams and company’s next leader. The issues run deep, so fixing the franchise won’t be effortless. Nonetheless, here’s how I’d do it.

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The Leadership Team

While there’s an argument to clean house entirely and move on from general manager Ryan Poles, that doesn’t seem like the direction the Bears are heading. Poles’ supporters could argue that the roster doesn’t lack talent, and his willingness to get Williams weapons ahead of his rookie year should be commended. The Montez Sweat and DJ Moore trades were home runs, and, on paper, the roster is ready to contend for a playoff spot. Poles’ detractors would argue that his failure to identify offensive linemen — an ironic blindspot considering his college position — has put a strain on the offensive playcalling and rookie quarterback. Weapons matter less when the offensive line struggles and this one hasn’t been good, no matter what ESPN’s metrics say. Still, I will give Poles one more season to get it right.

Step 1: Hire Lions OC Ben Johnson to be the Next Head Coach

Contract: 5 years, $75M.

I highlighted why the Bears should throw a bag at Ben Johnson and pair the talented playcaller with a second-year Williams. We’re not getting cute or saving money on this coaching hire — it’s the most important one in the franchise’s modern history. Ben Johnson’s offensive prowess and genius, combined with Williams’s immense talent, would all but guarantee a top-five finish in total offense every year. That declaration may sound premature — we don’t know how Johnson would command a locker room and lead a team of coaches on top of his playcalling duties. Still, Johnson has shown enough innovation in Detroit to warrant such assertions.

Step 2: Hire Rams OLB Coach Joe Coniglio as Defensive Coordinator

There’s enough evidence of a potent player development model in the last two seasons in Los Angeles, most of which comes from the outside linebacker room. Byron Young had an outstanding rookie season, accumulating eight sacks, and Jared Verse has already shown signs of more dominance than that. Michael Hoecht’s rapid development is further proof that Coniglio is getting the most out of his personnel, which is the only fundamental necessity for an exceptionally talented defense in Chicago. Coniglio has blossomed under the guidance of Sean McVay, his former college roommate, and would step into a lucrative opportunity with one of the NFL's most talented defenses (on paper).

Free Agency & Veteran Roster Construction

As things currently stand, the Bears will begin the 2025 offseason with $82,037,877 in cap space. They have an opportunity to add even more talent to a roster with upside.

Step 1: Cutting the Dead Weight

Chicago doesn’t have too many cuttable contracts, but Gerald Everett carries a pre-June 1st dead money hit of $1M with a cap savings of $5.5M. His lackluster play — and ties to an offensive coordinator no longer employed — in 2024 makes that a no-brainer.

Step 2: Retaining the Talent

Candidly, there aren’t many players vying for another deal in Chicago. Wide receiver Keenan Allen has flashed some of the magic that made him one of the best in the game over the last few weeks, but his dip in play has been substantial in 2024. Coleman Shelton has a case, but with the Bears’ offensive line remaining in disarray throughout 2024, we’ll look to upgrade the center position. Jack Sanborn has impressed for a couple of years, but there’s already too much money devoted to a linebacker room that has underachieved in 2024. Still, there are three primary retention candidates.

EDGE Darrell Taylor - 2 years, $12.4M ($10.1M guaranteed)

With new defensive coordinator Joe Coniglio having success with talented outside linebacker types, Taylor’s flashes in 2024 could become regularities. Taylor doesn’t offer much as a run defender, but his pass-rush skills have been sporadically apparent on film this year. Retaining him and hoping Coniglio has the magic touch could prove an intelligent business decision.

G Teven Jenkins - 1 year, $5.3M ($3.4M guaranteed)

Jenkins is a frustrating watch, as his work as a pass protector has been lackluster. Still, Jenkins has played over 600 snaps, and there are signs of a dominant run blocker on his film, even if you have to go back to 2023 for a lot of it. I’m not willing to throw him a long-term extension, but I’ll give him a prove-it deal and hope the dominance returns in 2024.

G Matt Pryor - 1 year, $2.3M fully guaranteed

While the offensive line hasn’t impressed as a unit, Pryor has put in some good pass-blocking snaps over the last few weeks. Bringing him back as offensive line depth, at least, would be a wise move.

Post-free-agency would be a great time to consider extending Kyler Gordon, the only player who should get serious long-term extension looks this offseason.

Step 3: Key Free Agents

C Ryan Kelly - 2 years, $17.5M ($12.4M guaranteed)

Kelly hasn’t been as elite as he once was in 2024, but his play would be an upgrade from what the Bears have deployed in 2024. Kelly would bring leadership and calmness to a second-year quarterback learning his second offense in as many years.

WR Tyler Boyd - 1 year, $2.8M fully guaranteed

Moving on from Keenan Allen brings a need at wideout, and Boyd has been fine this year despite the low production. He can fill the Allen role at a much cheaper rate, and he can probably separate better, too.

DT Milton Williams - 3 years, $46.9M ($37M guaranteed)

Gervon Dexter has been good at times in 2024, but the defensive line needs more juice. We’ll address the edge room later, but nabbing Williams to a massive deal would give the defense two penetrating defensive tackles who can get to the quarterback.

EDGE Michael Hoecht - 3 years, $27.1M ($13.3M guaranteed)

Why wouldn’t we bring over one of our defensive coordinator’s favorite players? The Rams could look to retain Hoecht, but they have other needs to address, and their edge room is strong. Hoecht could come in and provide much needed pressure to opposing quarterbacks alongside new signee Milton Williams and Montez Sweat.

WR Demarcus Robinson - 1 year, $3.5M fully guaranteed

Surrounding Williams with reliable weapons is still vital, and Robinson hasn’t recorded a single drop in the last two seasons. He’s not a game-changing wideout, but he’s a nice rotation piece behind DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and rotating in with Boyd.

After that assortment of free agents, there’s still over $34M to work with. A higher-profile wideout instead of two reliable, affordable ones could be a winning strategy, but I’ll take a page out of Poles’ book and try to find value where I can. Some of that money will go toward extensions for the young core, and specifically, Kyler Gordon.

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