The Chicago Bears playoff picture is officially clear and it’s a good one. With the regular season winding down, Chicago has already locked up the No. 3 seed in the NFC, guaranteeing a home playoff game at Soldier Field. From there, the ceiling only gets higher.

The Bears can clinch the No. 2 seed with either one more win of their own or one more loss by the Philadelphia Eagles. That scenario would secure Chicago a better postseason path and ensure at least one, and potentially two, home games in the playoffs. For a fan base starving for January football, that alone is massive.

The No. 1 seed is still alive, but the margin is thin. If the Bears lose to San Francisco, the dream of the top seed is officially over. However, if Chicago wins out and Seattle drops just one game, the Bears would shock the conference by claiming the No. 1 seed and the very valuable first-round bye.

Adding to the moment, Chicago officially clinched the NFC North on Saturday following the Packers loss to the Ravens. It marks the Bears first division title since 2018 and serves as a symbolic turning point for the franchise. This isn’t just a playoff appearance it’s a statement. Chicago has arrived.

The Bears aren’t sneaking in. They’re positioning themselves to host and to make a real run. They are a year ahead of schedule. But for the first time in years, Chicago controls its destiny and the rest of the NFC is officially on notice.

Matt LaFleur has been a fixture for the Green Bay Packers since 2019. During that time, the head coach has enjoyed significant success. He reached two NFC Championship games right out of the gate and has made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons with the team. One would think he’d be revered in that town. Instead, fans have seemed to slowly turn on LaFleur. It began last season when the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in Philadelphia, scoring only ten points.

This season started off great, with a 9-3-1 record and a win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, putting them in a strong position to claim the NFC North and chase the #1 seed. Then things unraveled. They lost an injury-plagued game in Denver where they led big, collapsed the next week again in Chicago after leading by 10 with two minutes left, and were crushed at home by a Baltimore Ravens team without Lamar Jackson. All of this has brought the pot to a boil.

Packers beat writer Matt Schneidman admitted that if the Packers lose in the first round of the playoffs, which has a strong likelihood of being against the Bears, the organization may decide it’s time to fire LaFleur.

Firing Matt LaFleur would be a monumental mistake.

While far from perfect, the young head coach has been the primary reason the Packers have remained competitive for so long. His scheming has done an excellent job of masking the bigger issue with the organization. That is the drafting of GM Brian Gutekunst. He took over for Ted Thompson in 2018. During that time, the Packers have seen a noticeable decline in the quality of their drafting. Only three of the players Gutekunst has drafted made a Pro Bowl. Three of his ten 1st round picks aren’t even on the team anymore. Others like Quay Walker, Lukas Van Ness, and Jordan Morgan have been big disappointments.

Despite all of that, the Packers continue to win, and it’s because Matt LaFleur is one of the best schemers in the league, able to hide their faults effectively. Many in Green Bay don’t recognize this because they’re not willing to admit how much weaker the roster has become. They seem certain they can do better than LaFleur. Considering what he’s done for them over the past seven seasons, that feels like hubris. Here’s hoping the Bears get the chance to show them the truth.

The Chicago Bears were never remotely considered a threat to the other NFC North teams when the season began. Why should they have been? Green Bay, Detroit, and Minnesota all won at least 13 games last season. The Bears were 5-12 and a walking basket case. Even after hiring Ben Johnson as head coach, nobody believed this team would make noise in what was easily the toughest division in football. As Saturday night wound down, the Green Bay Packers fell at home to the Baltimore Ravens, pushing their record to 9-6-1.

That meant they couldn’t get more than 10 wins, officially meaning the 11-4 Bears are NFC North champions for the first time since 2018. Just like that, GM Ryan Poles’ proclamation of retaking the north was complete. As things stand, this assures the Bears will have one of the top three seeds in the NFC playoffs (the NFC South winner will have the fourth spot). That guarantees the Bears at least one home game. Based on current seeding projections, they have a great chance to land the #2 seed, which would guarantee two home games.

The Chicago Bears’ objective now is clear.

Head coach Ben Johnson said making the playoffs alone wasn’t enough. He said the next steps were to win the division, which had been accomplished, and to pursue the #1 seed. Claiming that would assure home field advantage and a first round bye in the playoffs. That last step is the most challenging, but by no means impossible. It requires two crucial steps. The Bears must win each of their final two games against the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Then they need the Seattle Seahawks, who currently hold the top seed, to lose one of their last two games.

Beating the 49ers will be the toughest part. They’ve won six of their last seven games and have one of the hottest offenses in the league. They crushed the Chicago Bears in their meeting a year ago. Getting past them makes the objective much easier from there. Detroit is eliminated from the playoffs, so they’ll have nothing to play for in the season finale. Plus, it will be at Soldier Field in the cold. As for Seattle, both of their remaining games are on the road against playoff contenders (Carolina and San Francisco).

This isn’t over yet.

The Detroit Lions looked like they were on their way to another division title this season. They were 5-2 going into the bye and absolutely cruising. Then things went sideways. The offense started to falter, and the defense saw injuries pile up. Dan Campbell was forced to take over as teh offensive play caller for the embattled John Morton, but that didn’t solve the issue. Efficiency was still a big problem, and it all came crashing down on Christmas Day, when they turned it over six times in a must-win game against Minnesota.

Lions fans have begun to admit a truth they’ve tried to avoid for months—the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has significantly weakened their team. Obviously, you will take a hit when an elite play caller leaves, but Campbell’s inability to find even an adequate replacement isn’t being talked about enough. Now, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Lions head coach is planning another change at offensive coordinator. Yet rather than seek a more proven commodity, he may try something more desperate.

League sources believe Dan Campbell will be in the market for a new offensive coordinator this year, and perhaps he pulls from Johnson’s staff one year after Johnson took flight from Detroit.

Dan Campbell is staring down a dangerous road.

There have been many instances where a head coach takes the path of ‘If I can’t have this guy, I’ll just get one of his top assistants. It’ll be the same.’ History says that is far from reality. Trying to replicate a unique coach with somebody who works for him is asking for trouble. Currently, Dan Campbell has two likely options to consider. One is quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, and the other is wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle-El. Both worked in Detroit with Johnson, so there is familiarity. Campbell could try for Declan Doyle, the Bears’ offensive coordinator, offering the chance to call plays as a lure. However, Chicago is allowed to block such an idea.

Maybe this tactic works. Randle El has looked ready for a coordinator opportunity. He’s been around the NFL for decades. Barrett has been highly successful as a coach and player. His QB expertise makes such an opportunity inevitable. Still, expecting either man to duplicate what Johnson accomplished is playing against poor odds. Dan Campbell is coming off as desperate. Rather than seek a coordinator with credibility, he is trying to rekindle a fire that died. He needs to be practical about this.

If there is one fundamental truth about the NFL, it’s that every team that doesn’t have success is jealous of the ones that do. That is why you’d better be prepared for those teams to come knocking down your door, ready to lure away the people who help make that success possible, be they players or coaches. The Chicago Bears haven’t had a winning season since 2018. Now under head coach Ben Johnson, they’re 11-4, in the playoffs, and perhaps one win away from clinching the NFC North title.

Needless to say, that sudden turnaround has gotten the attention of teams around the NFL. They’re wondering how it happened so fast. Obviously, much of the credit belongs to Johnson. Then again, he has been the first person to credit his staff for doing a stellar job of preparing players for the tough games they’ve played. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the buzz is building that there could be a full-on sprint to swipe several assistants for higher positions elsewhere.

The team can already see it coming.

The Bears are braced for a potential raiding of the Chicago staff this winter…

…Press Taylor has been revitalized in Chicago as the pass game coordinator in his first major offensive role without Doug Pederson as the head coach. J.T. Barrett, the former Ohio State quarterback, has been working his way up the coaching ladder the past few years, and the Bears quarterbacks coach will likely get OC interviews this cycle.

Last but not least on offense is running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. The two-time Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator saw a brief career decline when he left Kansas City…

…Defensively, people need to understand just how great of a coach Al Harris has been. The former All-Pro and Pro Bowler has been coaching up takeaways as well as any assistant coach in the league the last few years.

The Chicago Bears have felt this sting before.

After their 1985 Super Bowl run, defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan left to become head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After their 2006 run, they lost assistant offensive line coach Harold Goodwin to Pittsburgh and couldn’t reach an agreement to keep Ron Rivera as defensive coordinator. Adam Gase left after one season to become the offensive coordinator in Miami, and, of course, Vic Fangio left for Denver after his brilliant 2018 season, taking much of his defensive staff with him. In each of those situations, the Bears got worse.

This situation might be a little different. Johnson isn’t going anywhere. He is the unquestioned architect of the Chicago Bears’ top 10 offense. The same is true for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who has already been a head coach twice. No team is likely to give him a third shot. That means the primary challenge will be if the Bears can find credible replacements for guys like Harris and Bieniemy. That is no easy task since both are considered among the best at their respective jobs.

Such is the life of a successful organization in the NFL.