Ben Johnson continues to build his coaching staff, with the latest reported addition being Tulane offensive line coach Dan Roushar, who is expected to join the Bears in the same role, according to multiple reports. Roushar has been linked to Johnson’s staff for weeks, and many consider this another excellent hire. But who is Dan Roushar, and what will he bring to the Bears? Let’s take a closer look.

Bears are expected to hire Dan Roushar as their OL coach, per Brad Biggs. pic.twitter.com/NJ0YKy7lzN

— BFR Podcast (@bfr_pod) February 3, 2025

1. Dan Roushar had a long tenure with the New Orleans Saints under Sean Payton, coaching running backs (2013), tight ends (2015), and the offensive line (2016-2020).

2. As the Saints offensive line coach from 2016-2020, he developed multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro players, including Larry Warford, Andrus Peat, Max Unger, Terron Armstead, and Ryan Ramczyk.

3. Roushar has extensive coaching experience, starting in the college ranks at Butler in 1986 before making a transition to the NFL.

4. His coaching ability is well-respected around the league, with his resume and player success speaking for themselves.

5. Many consider Roushar to be an exceptional teacher of the game which will be very useful as the Bears look to fortify their offensive line.

Chicago made a great hire.

Roushar will replace former offensive line coach Chris Morgan, whose tenure in Chicago yielded mixed results, leaving many Bears fans frustrated by the end. With Ben Johnson’s coaching staff nearly complete, Roushar brings a fresh voice and approach to the team.

One of the most confusing and concerning issues facing the Chicago Bears going into this off-season was the contract status of GM Ryan Poles. Initially, reports said he’d signed a four-year contract in 2022. That meant 2025 would be his last season, making him a lame-duck GM right when the Bears were set to hire a new head coach. Not only that, but it sounded as if the team wasn’t keen on extending him despite letting him lead the search. It felt like an egregious miscalculation.

Later updates indicated Poles was actually signed through 2026, giving him a little more cushion. Some wondered if the Bears planned to let him and the next head coach feel each other out for two years. If it worked out, they’d address the issue then. If not, they could find a new GM the coach prefers. As it turns out, there will be no such experiment. According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, expectations are that Poles will receive a three-year extension in the near future to bring himself into alignment with head coach Ben Johnson.

The Bears do not publicly comment about the contracts of coaches and front office personnel, nor would Poles address whether he has assurances of receiving a contract extension when asked on Jan. 7. According to a team source with knowledge of the situation, Poles’ deal runs through the 2026 season, and the expectation is he will receive an extension to align him with Johnson, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago, a term that is common for first-time head coaches.

What’s less common for first-time head coaches are substantial salaries. He’s believed to be making $13 million per year, whereas Eberflus made $6 million. As one source put it, the Bears “didn’t cut corners” when it came to paying Johnson.

Ryan Poles got the same treatment as Ryan Pace.

In 2018, the team extended the former GM right before he conducted his search for the next head coach, who eventually became Matt Nagy. Their partnership produced a division title and another playoff berth in 2020. Unfortunately, their inability to fix the quarterback position proved their undoing. Ryan Poles may have avoided that pitfall by selecting Caleb Williams in the 2024 draft. That means he is free to build up the rest of the roster without sacrificing extra resources to fix the most important position. If he and Johnson can produce some good off-seasons over the next two years, this team may emerge as a contender in the near future. At least there won’t have to be any further conversations about it.

The Chicago Bears knew they could not approach the upcoming search for a head coach as they had the last one. It always felt like things weren’t quite organized in 2022, largely due to the decision by George McCaskey and his search committee to run the GM and head coach searches at the same time. Such choices can often lead to chaos, misevaluations, and cutting corners. That is how they ended up with Matt Eberflus. This time around, GM Ryan Poles and his search team were determined to be more methodical and thorough.

That meant finding a way to organize the massive list of candidates they intended to interview. According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, the committee devised a simple way to keep things in perspective. They took a page right out of their school days by assigning a grade to every interview they held. This helped to pinpoint which coaches made the best impressions and would likely get a second interview when necessary. As it turns out, things never got that far.

The search committee, which consisted of Poles, Warren, McCaskey, director of football administration Matt Feinstein, senior player personnel director Jeff King, chief administrative officer Ted Crews and chief human resources officer Liz Geist, graded each interview.

Johnson received the top grade, according to a team source, who said: “He was the leader in the clubhouse.”

The Chicago Bears found their guy.

It is rather fitting that Ben Johnson, a legitimate nerd who graduated from North Carolina with degrees in mathematics and computer science, aced a test. There had been concerns going into this cycle about him. Whispers suggested that Johnson had trouble during previous interviews, not quite looking comfortable. It appears that choosing to take an extra year to stay in Detroit and keep maturing was a smart decision. He came across as calm, confident and well-prepared this time around.

While nobody is upset with the final result, one burning question remains unanswered: What grades did the other 16 coaches receive from the Chicago Bears? Mike McCarthy, Pete Carroll, Ron Rivera, Eddie George, and several others got the opportunity to make an impression. Few details have emerged on how they went. If things don’t work out with Johnson for whatever reason, it would’ve been fascinating to see who else came close. Alas, that probably will never be known.

Most will agree that the Chicago Bears must take a big swing in free agency next month. They have the salary cap space to do it. If it happens anywhere, most believe it will be on the offensive line. GM Ryan Poles knows his unit badly underachieved this season, allowing 67 sacks. The unit needs an overhaul. Adding a proven veteran would be the first important step in getting things settled down. That is where the name Trey Smith keeps coming up in conversations.

It isn’t hard to connect the dots. Smith was a 6th round pick for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. He became a Pro Bowler at right guard for them and is on the cusp of winning his third Super Bowl. Poles helped draft him that year, so there is a familiarity between the two. What people don’t know is whether Smith will be available and if the Bears are ready to pursue him. Local insider Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron put those concerns to rest.

Trey Smith will have plenty of suitors.

It isn’t a secret that other teams need offensive line help. One of them, the New England Patriots, has more money to spend than Chicago. That means the market should be fierce. There is a strong possibility Trey Smith will end up becoming the highest-paid guard in the NFL by the time the dust settles. That likely means at least $22 million per year. It is a lot, but the Bears should not care. They are at a critical point in their rebuild. Now is the time to throw all the resources possible into the development of Caleb Williams. That includes better protection. His rookie contract allows them to spend considerably. It is time to take advantage. Poles has the connection and the money. There is no excuse for him not to get this done.

Four spots. That is how many most Chicago Bears fans think need upgrading on the offensive line. Only right tackle Darnell Wright is safe at this point. Right guard has been a mess for years. Teven Jenkins could be a free agent as is Coleman Shelton. The toughest argument is Braxton Jones. There is no question the former 5th round pick has exceeded expectations at left tackle since getting to the league in 2022. However, people stop short of calling him a high-end starter. Most believe he is replaceable. Does GM Ryan Poles agree?

He is the one who drafted Jones and has stuck by him to this point. That said, it feels like changes are coming. The only question is whether left tackle is one of them. Draft insider Tony Pauline of Sportskeedia believes the answer is yes, but not in the way fans are thinking. While it is possible the Bears could target a left tackle in the draft, there is a stronger likelihood they plan to stick with a plan they began last off-season.

The team needs help at two if not three spots on the interior offensive line, depending on whether they choose to try and bring back Teven Jenkins, who is scheduled to be a UFA in March. I’m told the team has high
expectations for Kiran Amegadjie, the third-round pick from Yale last year, and he is expected to challenge for the starting spot at left tackle this summer.

Ryan Poles always felt Amegadjie needed time.

People have already given up on the former 3rd round pick because of what happened this past season. The rookie played 67 snaps as a pass blocker and allowed eight pressures and a sack. It was a rough debut. That said, nobody should’ve been surprised. Amegadjie hadn’t practiced all summer, nursing a quad injury that ended his final season with Yale. He wasn’t ready. The Bears threw him out there because they had little choice. Poles had always intended for him to take this year to learn from the sidelines.

Amegadjie will have a full off-season to prepare for 2025. He has an offensive head coach guiding the way. Ben Johnson has developed talented linemen before. If the young tackle puts in the work, he has more than enough ability to challenge Jones for that starting job. Presuming this is Ryan Poles’ plan, it means that all resources will be focused on improving the interior offensive line in the spring. If Amegadjie blossoms, everything could come together fast. If not, the Bears will know what their next priority is in 2026.