Windy City Gridiron
On Tuesday, the Chicago Bears officially announced all three coordinators under newly hired head coach Ben Johnson. Although free agency is still over a month away, it’s never too early to start wondering what the offseason ahead could look like under a revamped coaching staff.
The NFL is just under six weeks until the official start of the acquisition period begins. For 30 of the 32 teams around the league, the focus has turned to the offseason ahead. While the draft is taking most of the headlines in late July and early February, soon enough, the “legal negotiation period” will commence on Monday, March 10th.
Hiring a new coaching staff for teams like the Chicago Bears has intensified the typical offseason madness, especially with the NFL’s attempt to drag out the hiring process into late January. While assistant coaching hirings will continue to trick in, now is as good a time as any to reflect on the decisions made and what could be ahead. With yet another pivotal offseason ahead in Chicago, will this finally be the turning point for a franchise that has experienced one winning season since the firing of Lovie Smith?
1. How valuable will a veteran presence be to the interior offensive line?
Heading into free agency, the Bears don’t have a Week 1 starter from last year’s interior line under contract. Teven Jenkins’ future felt sealed when he told the media his chances of returning were “50/50.” Nate Davis was cut mid-season, and Coleman Shelton is due to be an unrestricted free agent with some scheme-fit questions with the new coaching staff due to size and overall ability. In a perfect world, the Bears can take a similar approach to the Carolina Panthers in 2024 by investing a pair of large contracts into this group. Trey Smith will be the crown jewel of this group, but there are multiple good names that he could be paired with. Kevin Zeitler is a name that comes to mind as a short-term solution. If they want more long-term certainty, someone like center Drew Dalman or guard Will Fries could be cheaper than someone like Smith. They also both come with injury concerns.
With a quality list of options in the first three rounds of April’s draft, Chicago will have to formulate a plan on how they plan to attack re-tooling the offensive line. One thing is for sure: You can bet on a big contract in free agency and at least one mid-tier contract for a fringe/short-term starter. Anything past that is anybody’s best guess.
2. With Montez Sweat on the books for $25.4 million per year in his new contract, does investing big money into another defensive end make sense?
Help along the defensive line should be a top priority for the Bears this offseason. Watching the playoffs, the teams with the more dominant group in the trenches almost always won. Obviously, the quarterback is the most crucial part of the equation, but for a team to...
