Talented assistants depart Chicago's successful team, a testament to their impact and a promising indicator of the franchise's future.
The Chicago Bears are set up pretty well for the future.
The franchise reached the Divisional Round in the first year of Ben Johnson's reign. Chicago went 11-6 in the regular season, won its first NFC North title since 2018 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
This team had a fight that had not been around the organization for quite some time. The number of fourth-quarter comebacks that the Bears had in 2025 was insane, and it's a testament to the head coach.
Unfortunately, having a good season like the Bears did means that it was going to be hard to keep their assistants around.
First, it was running backs coach Eric Bieniemy leaving to become the next offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. Then, defensive backs coach Al Harris was tied to openings with the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, but is sticking around for now.
Then, another domino fell on Johnson's staff, as OC Declan Doyle left to join the Baltimore Ravens in the same role. It was kind of a heartbreaker for Bears fans, as Doyle interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles, but withdrew his name, making it seem that he would be sticking around for the 2026 season.
Doyle is joining the newly hired head coach, Jesse Minter. Minter was previously with the Los Angeles Chargers.
It's tough to lose valuable assistants like Bieniemy and Doyle, but I would argue that it's a sign of how great the franchise is doing.
Sure, Bieniemy and Doyle helped revitalize the offense that was in the bottom 10 for multiple metrics under Matt Eberflus. The Bears were 12th in passing yards (234.8), third in rushing yards (144.8) and ninth in points per game (25.9) in 2025.
However, Bears fans should be feeling pride that many teams are tripping over themselves to land this team's assistants. The success that the Bears had with Johnson's assistants is something that other teams want to replicate, and that's a great thing.
Unfortunately, that does mean that fans are going to have to come to terms with the coaching staff looking different in 2026.
Other teams go through this as well.
I bet if you look at offseason candidate lists, many assistants from teams like the Bears, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and others will be featured.
This is the cost of doing business after a successful season, and a great sign of where things are headed with Chicago under Johnson and General Manager Ryan Poles.