Ben Johnson knew what he had to do from the moment he arrived as the new Chicago Bears head coach. If he wanted to ignite a fanbase that had been sleepwalking for the past 15 years, he had to poke the bear. Pun very much intended. That meant needling the Green Bay Packers, who’d owned the rivalry for the better part of 30 years, declaring his personal joy at beating their head coach, Matt LaFleur, twice a year. It was the first open shot any Bears head coach had dared to fire at Green Bay since Lovie Smith’s introductory press conference in 2004.

At first, Packers fans brushed it off as a young coach having bluster. He would soon learn his place. That mentality changed in a big way after the Bears beat the Packers not once but twice in a span of a few weeks, capped by an epic comeback in the wild card round. Now those same fans can’t stand Johnson, calling him every name in the book, and some invented new ones. However, Alex “Ike” Eichstaedt​​, host of the IKE Packers Podcast, had a moment of honesty. He believes Packers fans are lying to themselves about the real reason they hate Johnson.

Packers fans knew what Ben Johnson would become.

They could sense it long before he became a head coach. His offenses dominated Green Bay during his three years as Detroit’s offensive coordinator. He looked every bit like that next Sean Payton or Sean McVay. A wizard offensive coach who would elevate any team he took over from the outset. The fact that he went to the Chicago Bears must’ve made Packer fans sick to their stomachs. It would’ve been much like how Bears fans probably felt when Mike Holmgren left San Francisco after winning two Super Bowls to take over Green Bay.

Everybody knew Holmgren was destined for success. It was the same with Kyle Shanahan in 2017. The Bears had a chance to pivot away from John Fox and bring in the highly successful offensive coordinator. They chose to stick with Fox, and Shanahan went to San Francisco. Now Green Bay is feeling much the same about Ben Johnson. For all his playoff trips, Matt LaFleur has little to show for them. Worse still, the division is getting tougher, and their grip on the crown has slipped. If the Bears continue adding quality talent to the roster, this won’t be an era of the rivalry Green Bay can shrug off.

Since 2023, the Chicago Bears have spent four 1st round picks. All four were on the offensive side of the ball. The results speak for themselves. The team had its first top 10 unit in 12 years, led by Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland. One has to think GM Ryan Poles is fully prepared to finally break that trend, giving defensive coordinator Dennis Allen some help. After all, despite leading the league in takeaways, the Bears’ defense was 29th in total yards and 23rd in points allowed.

That is not good enough.

While you never want to outright reserve a 1st round pick for any side of the ball months in advance, it is hard to imagine the Bears don’t go defense. The only question is who they may target. After digging into Allen’s history as a defensive coordinator, it isn’t hard to pinpoint who that will be. Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald feels like the obvious choice. It’s not only because the Bears have a serious need on the defensive line, but also because of what the young man offers.

The best Dennis Allen defenses owned the middle.

Look back over his best units in New Orleans between 2018 and 2023. Almost invariably, you will find they had a dynamic interior presence. It started with Sheldon Rankins, a 1st round pick in 2016. Though hampered by injuries at times in his career, he’s been a high-quality interior pass rusher when healthy. Next came David Onyemata, a stout powerhouse who combined excellent run defense with steady pass-rush production. Last but not least was Bryan Bresee, another 1st round pick, who was much the same as a solid run defender with pass-rush upside.

This is where McDonald comes in. For the first two years of his college career, most chalked him up as a tough and powerful nose tackle who would carve out a role as a run-stopper. Then he broke out in 2025 with three sacks and nine tackles for a loss, showcasing his considerable athletic prowess and advancing pass rush techniques. That fits the same profile Dennis Allen seemed to covet with Bresee, Onyemata, and Rankins. Don’t be shocked if he ends up being the pick at #25 this April if he’s available.

Chicago Bears insider Bradd Biggs doesn’t traffic in hot takes. When Biggs hints at something, especially in the Chicago Tribune, it’s usually grounded in real conversations inside Halas Hall. That’s why his recent comments on Cole Kmet carry weight.

Biggs acknowledged that the Chicago Bears will take a hard look at veterans with higher cap numbers, and Kmet technically fits that category. He’s due roughly $10 million in 2026 between base salary and bonuses, with no guaranteed money remaining. A trade or release would free up $8.4 million in cap space, and Biggs noted there would certainly be trade value if the Bears explored that route.

Still, Biggs made it clear he’d be surprised if Chicago planned a future without Kmet. While his receiving production has dipped, it’s not due to a decline in play. He simply hasn’t been targeted like he once was. Kmet continues to provide real value as a blocker, a tone-setter in the run game, and a respected leader in the locker room.

“Trading or releasing Kmet would provide a good chunk of cap space but would create a larger hole in the depth chart, in my mind. He’s a valuable glue guy for the roster, and the combination of skill sets with Loveland gives the offense a lot of options. I think he’s pretty secure.”

Kmet played 768 snaps this season, more than any skill-position player not named Caleb Williams or DJ Moore. That usage matters in Ben Johnson’s offense, which leaned heavily into 12 personnel. Pairing Kmet with Colston Loveland gives the Bears versatility few teams can match.

Why the Bears Should Keep Kmet Around

From my perspective, this is a no-brainer. Kmet is a hometown talent who just experienced his most successful season in Chicago in terms of winning. Ben Johnson loves his tight ends, and the idea of Kmet and Loveland entering Year 2 together in this offense is exciting. Like Biggs said, the Bears need to keep him around.

Trading or releasing Kmet would provide a good chunk of cap space but would create a larger hole in the depth chart, in my mind. He’s a valuable glue guy for the roster, and the combination of skill sets with Loveland gives the offense a lot of options. I think he’s pretty secure.

Chicago Bears 2026 Mock Offseason: Controlled Aggression

When Brad Biggs speaks on roster construction, it’s rarely noise. The longtime Chicago Tribune insider is well-connected inside Halas Hall, and his recent comments strongly suggest a tough financial decision looming for the Chicago Bears, specifically at the safety position.

Biggs doesn’t see a realistic path for Chicago to retain both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker long term. His reasoning is simple: committing major money to two safeties would limit flexibility elsewhere on the roster, especially as the Bears continue shaping a long-term contender.

“I don’t see any way the Bears sign both Byard and Brisker. That would be pouring too much money into the safety position. Even if Byard departs, I’m a little skeptical the team would pony up for Brisker.“

Why the Bears May Have to Choose

While Brisker delivered an outstanding performance in the divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Biggs cautioned against allowing that game to outweigh the full body of work. He described it as Brisker’s best game of the season and possibly his best in four years but questioned whether that level of impact was present consistently throughout the regular season. In short, one elite performance shouldn’t drive a major contract decision.

Byard, meanwhile, may be the more realistic retention option. Biggs noted that the veteran safety appears open to returning, with the Bears potentially targeting a two-year deal or even a three-year structure to help spread out the cap hit. That approach would provide leadership and stability without overextending financially.

“Byard seems to like the idea of returning. My guess is the Bears might try to sign him to a two-year deal, perhaps three years if they want to spread out the cap hit a little bit.”

From my perspective, I wish the Bears could keep both Brisker and Byard. The energy, physicality, and emotion they bring to the defense is infectious, and they are simply fun to watch. Unfortunately, this is the reality of roster building in the NFL. These are the tough, unemotional decisions a general manager has to make to keep a team competitive long term, even when it means letting go of players fans love.

Chicago Bears 2026 Mock Offseason: Controlled Aggression

People have been trying to quantify how special the 2025 season was for the Chicago Bears. The organization has been part of some amazing single-season turnarounds before. They went from 5-11 to 13-3 in 2001, 5-11 to 11-5 in 2005, and 6-10 to 12-4 in 2018. Yet something about this team felt different. They weren’t winning in your typical Bears way with great defense and a strong running game. This was driven by their pairing of young quarterback Caleb Williams and offensive wizard head coach Ben Johnson.

No fewer than seven 4th quarter comebacks were required to reach 11-6 and win the NFC North title. The sheer resilience in the face of defeat became a weekly ritual, something that hasn’t been typical of Bears teams in decades. In a span of four months, they secured their first top-10 offense in 12 years, broke the Green Bay Packers’ grip on the rivalry by beating them for the division title, and then won their first playoff game in 15 years.

People haven’t fully grasped how insane all of that truly was, so Eli Ong of WGN News put it in perspective. Johnson is the first head coach to take over a league-worst offense, win his division, and win a playoff game in his first year. Ever.

Ben Johnson shouldn’t have been able to do what he did.

Keep in mind who he’s being mentioned alongside. Jim Fassel was the New York Giants’ head coach for seven seasons. In that time, he made the playoffs three times and reached the Super Bowl in 2000. Sean McVay is, of course, one of the best head coaches in the NFL, reaching two Super Bowls already and knocking on the door of a third. He won a Lombardi trophy in 2001. Based on track record, it’s pretty clear that any coach who accomplishes what Johnson just did will likely be in a Super Bowl at some point.

It offers further proof that Chicago hit a grand slam with this hire. Ben Johnson was one of those rare coaches who everybody knew was destined for big things. The Bears never hire coaches like that. Not once in their century-long existence had the organization landed what everybody in the NFL considered the best coach on the market. They came close a few times. They interviewed Bill Belichick in 1999 and Bruce Arians in 2013. It never quite came together.

Johnson’s arrival feels like the moment where they finally took a big swing and made perfect contact.

With their loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, the Chicago Bears are locked into the 25th overall pick in the upcoming 2026 draft. If that holds true without any trades, it will be the first time the team has picked at that spot since 1963. The Bears have never selected 25th in the Super Bowl era. The league has changed a lot in that time. However, it doesn’t change the fact that GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson face the difficult task of finding a good player at that spot.

The problem is that pick, historically speaking, hasn’t lined up favorably with their particular needs going into this offseason.

#1 – It hasn’t yielded a quality defensive lineman in over 20 years

Pass rushers in general are somewhat rare in the back half of the 1st round, but the 25th pick in particular has been largely barren for over two decades. The only notable name selected was Charles Grant, who had some good years in New Orleans and helped them win the Super Bowl in 2009. Outside of that, it has been a wasteland, meaning the Bears would need a significant shift in historical trends to land somebody they might covet for their defensive front this April.

#2 – Has never produced a top left tackle

With uncertainty around Ozzy Trapilo, there is at least a high degree of possibility the Bears look to find a definitive left tackle at #25. Unfortunately, that hasn’t found much success either. Since 1967, only five tackles have gone at that spot. None of them emerged as a front-line starter. Two were moved inside to guard. The only standout was Steve Riley, who spent 11 years in Minnesota. Again, the Bears would be fighting against trends that have been ongoing for decades.

The Chicago Bears will either fight the odds or play them.

In recent history, two position groups have yielded solid results at #25 in the draft. One is cornerbacks. Vontae Davis, Jason Verrett, and Xavier Rhodes all went there. The other is linebackers. Jon Beason, D’Onta Hightower, and Shaq Thompson went at that spot. You could also make a case for wide receivers with Brandon Aiyuk, Hollywood Brown, and Santonio Holmes. However, that position isn’t really a pressing need for the team.

Of those three, linebacker might be the most pressing. Noah Sewell is a free agent, and Tremaine Edmunds could be cut for salary cap reasons. Adding a young, athletic linebacker to the mix wouldn’t be a bad thing. Obviously, teams can never have enough cornerbacks. With Nahshon Wright a free agent and health problems haunting Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson, it might be wise to add some insurance.

There is a price that comes with success. When the Chicago Bears broke through after years of misery to seize the NFC North, it was only a matter of time before other teams came calling on their coaching staff. Eric Bieniemy has already left, rejoining the Kansas City Chiefs as their offensive coordinator for the second time. Now, defensive backs coach Al Harris seems to be the one in demand. He has already interviewed for the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator jobs.

However, a new favorite seems to have emerged. Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show relayed that Harris is the name to watch for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive coordinator job. It makes sense. That team just hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach. Harris and McCarthy worked together from 2020 through 2024, making the playoffs three straight years. Pittsburgh’s defense is in desperate need of a fresh voice. Harris has been ready for this opportunity for the past several years.

Al Harris will be a tough loss for Chicago.

He was a major reason the defense forced so many takeaways in 2025. Kevin Byard had seven interceptions. Nahshon Wright had five. C.J. Gardner-Johnson had two despite not joining the team until midway through the season. Harris is such an excellent coach. It was only a matter of time before he took a promotion elsewhere. The only thing the Bears could’ve hoped for was that it might take a little longer to happen. Still, at least he’d be going to the AFC rather than an NFC rival like Green Bay or Dallas.

Replacing him will be a challenge. The easiest move would be promoting assistant secondary coach Matt Giardano to the role. However, he hasn’t been coaching in the NFL for very long. It might be wise for the Bears to find somebody a little more proven to step in for Al Harris. Former Bear Chris Harris is available after the Jets cleaned out their defensive staff. Teryl Austin, ironically, Pittsburgh’s former defensive coordinator, would fill the role perfectly. Dennis Allen also has ties to Joe Woods from their time together in New Orleans.

The team has options.