Bears add former college teammate Will Lawing to Ben Johnson's offensive staff, bringing a proven passing game background to Chicago.
Four teams are remaining in the NFL playoffs, but for the rest of them, it's the offseason.
This means many teams are conducting head-coaching searches or even shuffling their assistant coaches. That's true for the Chicago Bears, who recently made an assistant coaching hire.
The Bears have hired former Boston College Eagles offensive coordinator Will Lawing for an undisclosed role on Ben Johnson's staff. Lawing and Johnson are familiar with each other, as they were teammates at the North Carolina Tar Heels. Lawing was also in Johnson's wedding party.
The strength of his offense at Boston College was in the passing game. The Eagles were third in the ACC in passing yards per game (280.2) this past season.
Lawing joined Boston College in 2024, when former head coach Bill O'Brien was hired.
Johnson and Lawing were with the Tar Heels from 2004-07. The Bears' head coach was a reserve quarterback, while Lawing was a walk-on receiver.
This isn't the new Bears hire's first NFL assistant gig. He was previously with the New England Patriots (2023) as their tight ends coach and the Houston Texans (2014-2020) in various assistant roles.
At the college level, he served as an assistant coach at Boston College (2024-25), Alabama (2021-22) and Penn State (2013).
What Lawing will be doing for the Bears hasn't been announced just yet, but there's a good chance it will be something on the offensive side of the ball, considering that's where most of his experience comes from.
Chicago recently lost an offensive assistant, as running backs coach Eric Bieniemy recently left to become the Kansas City Chiefs' OC. It will be his second stint as OC with the team, following Bieniemy's tenure from 2018-2022.
Other Bears assistants, like defensive backs coach Al Harris and OC Declan Doyle, have been getting plenty of interest as well. Harris recently interviewed the Green Bay Packers for their defensive coordinator opening. Doyle was requested to interview for the Philadelphia Eagles' OC job.
It'll be interesting to see what the Bears will have Lawing do on Johnson's staff, but I think it's pretty sure he'll have something to do with the offense.
This past season, the Bears ranked 12th in passing yards (234.8), third in rushing yards (144.5) and ninth in points per game (25.9). However, there is definitely some room for improvement as the Bears look ahead to the 2026 season.
Where is Lawing going to end up?