Former assistant general manager Ian Cunningham spent four years with the Chicago Bears and accomplished the critical first milestone of a rebuild by making the playoffs. That success finally enabled him to secure his own GM position with the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears always knew it was coming. It was about when, not if. One would think GM Ryan Poles had a succession plan in mind for whenever it did happen. Well, it has now been 12 days, as of writing this, since Cunningham departed. There has been no announcement of a replacement.

One would think the Bears would be quick to get such a promotion out of the way if they already had a name in mind. Speculation has persisted that Jeff King, the senior director of player personnel, is the heavy favorite for the opening. However, the team has remained silent. That usually indicates no decision has been made, which suggests the choice of a new assistant GM is not nearly the formality some thought it was. There are two possible reasons for this being the case.

#1 – Poles may not have full authority to replace Ian Cunningham.

Put another way, this isn’t the same power structure from four years ago in 2022. Back then, Poles had unquestioned authority in the front office, free to do whatever they wanted. That has changed. He now shares power with Ben Johnson, and it’s possible the Bears’ head coach would prefer bringing in an outside voice. Somebody he is familiar with and would want representing his interests in the front office. People close to the situation in Halas Hall believe this is the discussion being had, which would explain the delay.

It isn’t uncommon for a head coach to bring an executive he trusts with him to a new team, though that is typically for the general manager job. This would be a case where Johnson wants somebody who knows his preferences and will maintain an unbiased opinion in evaluation meetings. It is similar to what he does with his coaching staff, often seeking outside voices who might see the game differently. It leads to productive dialogue and a better chance of making the right decision.

#2 – The Chicago Bears may not trust King with that spot

This possibility is a little more unlikely, but should be brought up. Despite his rapid rise in the Chicago Bears’ front office, it’s worth remembering that King’s background has mostly been as a pro scout. That means he was a key evaluator of potential free-agent or trade acquisitions. The Bears may wish to have someone with a stronger background evaluating college players in that assistant GM role. That is how Cunningham came up, serving as an area scout and director of college scouting, just like Poles. For a team that wants to build through the draft, having two college-oriented guys at the top feels logical. King didn’t start evaluating the college ranks until 2023.

Such inexperience could push the Bears to keep him where he is. As things stand, King remains the favorite to inherit the position. He’s highly thought of in the building. This comes down to whether Coach Johnson signs off on it or if he’s determined to bring in somebody he’s more familiar with. The longer the silence continues, the more it feels like the Bears could pivot. It would be shocking if we didn’t have an answer to this question before the NFL draft in April.

As part of the offseason, I am sharing one Bears play per day. This is number four.

The play came against the Bengals. It was a trick play that featured DJ Moore throwing a touchdown pass to Caleb Williams. The Bears later won the game on Colston Loveland’s walkoff touchdown.

The Bears ran a designed trick play. Moore took the throw and delivered a touchdown pass to their rookie quarterback. The game ended with a walkoff score that sealed the win for Chicago.

Breaking Down the Play Itself

The setup mattered as much as the throw. The Bears aligned in a look that forced the Bengals to respect Moore as a receiver first. Rome Odunze got the toss from Caleb. That froze the defense for just long enough. When Moore pulled up to pass, the coverage hesitated. Williams slipped free, and the ball was right where it needed to be.

This was not a lucky play. It was drawn up. That tells you something about the coaching staff and how they view their personnel. They trust Moore with the ball. They trust Williams to be part of the design, not just the trigger man.

The throw itself was clean. Moore did not panic. He set his feet and delivered the ball on time. Williams did his job by selling the route and finishing the play. It was simple football, executed well.

The result was a touchdown that shifted momentum. It also showed a side of the offense that had been missing the last few years. Creativity. Confidence. A willingness to lean into the strengths of the roster.

What It Says About the Bears Moving Forward

It does not change long term expectations for next season. But it does tell you how the Bears want to play.

They want defenses guessing. They want Moore involved in more than one way. They want Williams comfortable doing things beyond standard drop backs. That matters for a young quarterback and a developing offense.

My opinion is that this play reflects smart usage, not flash for the sake of it. The Bears did not run it just to look clever. They ran it because the look was there and the matchup worked. That is the right reason.

If the Bears are going to take the next step, these moments matter. They build trust. They show identity. They also give defenses something extra to prepare for, which helps everything else open up.

When you stack plays like this, you start to see a clearer picture of what this team wants to be.

Fun and Meaning Rating

I’d put this play at a 7 out of 10.

It was fun. The design worked. The execution was clean. You had multiple playmakers touching the ball, and it ended with your quarterback catching a touchdown. That alone gives it value.

The meaning matters too. This was not just a trick play for the highlight reel. It showed trust across the offense. Trust in DJ Moore to make a decision. Trust in Rome Odunze to handle the exchange. Trust in Caleb Williams to sell the action and finish the play.

Plays like this add personality to an offense. They also make defenses slow down. That has value beyond one touchdown.

Final Score: Bears 47, Bengals 42

The NFL Just Motivated Ben Johnson

Drake Maye finished one vote shy of winning league MVP this year. Media and fans slobbered all over his regular season performances, heralding him as the true heir apparent to Tom Brady with the New England Patriots. He completed 72% of his passes and led the team to a 13-4 record. The only thing left to do was attend the coronation in Super Bowl LX. Yet as the playoffs unfolded, it became apparent Maye wasn’t anywhere near that elite level he’d showcased the previous four months.

Then it all came crashing down in the Super Bowl.

Under the relentless pressure of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense, Maye delivered his worst performance of the season. The QB looked rattled and uncertain, taking six sacks and committing three brutal turnovers, including two interceptions and a strip-sack returned for a touchdown. When the dust settled, Maye had the worst Expected Points Added (EPA) of any playoff quarterback in the past quarter century, eclipsing 2015 Peyton Manning and 2006 Rex Grossman for the honor.

Drake Maye proved the Bears should not regret taking Caleb Williams.

Over the past couple of months, you’ve seen articles popping up doing a 2024 re-draft. This is where people do what the 1st round would’ve looked like with the benefit of hindsight. Almost all of them had the Bears taking Maye over Caleb Williams because of his excellent regular season. Yet the true mettle of a quarterback shows up when the lights are brightest. Maye seemed to shrink from them, being carried the entire postseason by an elite defense. By contrast, Williams consistently delivered in big moments, engineering that epic comeback over Green Bay and forcing overtime with that all-time great 4th-down throw against the Rams.

Critics are not wrong. Williams still suffers from efficiency issues. He doesn’t hit the layups often enough, and he got greedy a bit too often in the playoffs. Yet nobody argues whether he belonged on that stage. Some even stated the postseason lost some of its juice after the Bears were eliminated. It feels like we’re just starting to see the real version of Williams blossom, whereas this might be the best Drake Maye will ever be. Everything went right for the Patriots this year, and their quarterback couldn’t close the deal.

Maye isn’t likely to see an easier runway ever again.

Keep in mind what happened in the AFC. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were eliminated from postseason contention. That is unlikely to happen much in the future. The same was true of Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. Joe Burrow is still dangerous in Cincinnati. Let’s also not forget Maye has to share the AFC East with Josh Allen, who won their second meeting in December. That conference is loaded with too many good quarterbacks to believe Maye will see a playoff schedule as easy as the one he just saw ever again.

We already know Williams can elevate his play in the postseason. The only issue for him is cutting down the interceptions and improving the efficiency. The Superman cape will be there when it’s needed. This year confirmed everything the Bears felt about their young quarterback when they drafted him. He might not have been a finished product, but his ability to take plays beyond their original design was special. If harnessed by a smart enough coach, it could transform into some of the best quarterback play this league has seen.

Drake Maye will have a good career, but this past month has ended the debate. Chicago made the right decision.

Caleb Williams came under fire before the 2025 season when Tyler Dunne of Go Long published an article offering supposed details about how he really operated behind the scenes during the Chicago Bears’ tumultuous 2024 season. He was described as immature, unprepared, stubborn, and rebellious. It even insinuated that the quarterback had a learning disability despite zero proof. While Dunne insisted he had several sources confirming the information, many felt it was nothing more than a poorly-disguised hit piece. Those sources were likely nothing more than bitter coaches looking for someone else to blame. Based on what Keenan Allen recently said, that theory has legs.

The former Pro Bowl wide receiver returned to the Los Angeles Chargers this season and had a decent year. During Super Bowl week, he appeared on Compas On The Beat to talk about his return, the Chargers’ season, and what the future holds. During the discussion, Allen’s stint in Chicago came up. He made it clear from the outset that the Bears had a talented team in 2024. They could’ve done some good things. Unfortunately, they were held back by the coaching.

Keenan Allen knows the difference between good and bad coaching.

He’s experienced both across what might be a Hall of Fame career. It started with Mike McCoy in San Diego, then moved to Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley. While that isn’t the most inspiring trio, going from them to Matt Eberflus was an undisputed downgrade. His inability to build a competent staff or manage a game constantly held the Bears back for three years. Allen should feel fortunate he was only there for the end. He didn’t have to endure the misery of 2022 and 2023. One year was enough.

More than anything, it’s about who passed the eye test. Even during his rookie season, Williams showed flashes. There was never one instance where it felt like Eberflus was the superior coach on the sideline during his tenure. Keenan Allen was being diplomatic with those comments. He had every right to give it some extra heat. It shows how classy he is.

This is vindication for Williams as well. He and Keenan Allen seemed to have great chemistry during that season. The wide receiver has played with some great quarterbacks in his career and had nothing but good things to say during and after his time there. Eberflus has gotten no such love. That says it all.

The Chicago Bears drafted Jimbo Covert 6th overall in the 1983 NFL draft. He would go on to become a two-time All-Pro, anchoring one of the best offensive lines of the 1980s. He won a Super Bowl in 1985 and eventually found his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by injuries, and he retired after the 1990 season. Since then, it feels as if the Bears have been cursed at the position. Despite numerous attempts to fix it over the past 35 years, they haven’t found much success, being forced to lean on surprise late round picks and veteran free agents for most of that time. Now Ben Johnson is about to take on that curse in the 2026 draft.

It isn’t a secret that the Bears’ head coach seeks stability at left tackle. It is why he tinkered with the position all season. Four different guys played there. Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet were benched. Ozzy Trapilo looked like he had a firm hold on the job, then tore his patellar tendon. Suddenly, the Bears have no definitive starter for next season. That puts Johnson in a tough spot. Does he find a temporary option until Trapilo returns despite the health concerns, or does he go for the long-term fix in the 1st round of the draft?

If it’s the latter, he stands in the face of some ugly history.

Ben Johnson must find out where the Bears went wrong in years past.

Since Covert retired, the franchise has selected a left tackle in the 1st round four times. All four of them flamed out to varying degrees.

From the look of it, there was a combo of factors in play. Either the Bears selected guys who clearly weren’t equipped to play tackle in the NFL, or they picked ones with questionable durability. Thomas lacked the work ethic. Williams lacked the foot speed. Colombo and Carimi had vulnerable lower extremities. This is often why teams like drafting players with thick lower bodies.

Johnson has a good education on this front. He was with the Miami Dolphins when they drafted Jonathan Martin and Ja’Wuan James, two players who lacked the mental toughness to succeed in the pros. Then he watched them draft Laremy Tunsil, who went on to become a star. A few years later, he was with Detroit when they took Penei Sewell. Though a right tackle, his scouting reports told the story.

• A vocal leader at age 18.
• Great athlete
• Quick feet
• Huge from top to bottom
• Violent temperament

Johnson will have some interesting options.

Much depends on what Ben Johnson wants to prioritize. He’s said that pass protection is at the top of the list for his left tackle. They must be able to handle themselves one-on-one without constantly needing help. Based on early projections, there are two names to keep an eye on for the Bears at 25th overall. The first is Kadyn Proctor. A mammoth human being at 6’7, 366 lbs, he has surprisingly good feet for his size and anchors easily against bull rushers. The other is Monroe Freeling. He is much more the athlete, moving with grace and fluidity. Speed has no effect on him, and he is tailor-made for a zone-rushing scheme.

There is plenty of talk about edge rushers and defensive tackles. Both are needed, make no mistake. Still, it feels like Johnson is determined to get the left tackle fixed once and for all. Can he break the curse? Johnson has already done it so many times this past year with the Packers, quarterback, and even the full navy blue uniforms. If he can take this one down as well, the franchise will be equipped to dominate the NFC.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles is in uncharted territory heading into his fifth NFL draft. Up until now, with the exception of his first season, when he had no 1st-round pick, he has selected exclusively in the top 10. The Bears have benefitted from this, adding Darnell Wright, Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland over the past three years. This spring will bring a different challenge. Chicago sits at 25th overall in the 1st round. They haven’t selected this late since 2011, when they sat at 29th.

Poles knows the challenge of landing a good player at such a spot is much tougher because 24 players will be gone by the time he’s on the clock, many of whom will be high on his board. Previous Bears general managers have fallen into this trap. Jerry Angelo picked in the bottom third of the 1st round four times, coming away with Marc Colombo, Rex Grossman, Greg Olsen, and Gabe Carimi. Phil Emery delivered Shea McClellin and Kyle Long. it can be a hazardous area that derails any momentum your organization may have.

Ryan Poles had two mentors with tons of experience in this situation.

The Bears GM often credited two men for shaping how he grew as a scout and personnel executive. They were former Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and his successor, John Dorsey. Combined, those two had a wealth of experience working for teams who picked regularly in the #20-32 range. Pioli did it mostly with the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, while Dorsey did it with the Green Bay Packers. Here is a list of the names acquired during those extended stints.

While every draft is different, there appears to be an emphasis on two positions. Edge rusher and offensive tackle comprised eight of the picks. Only wide receiver got close at three. That paints a rather clear picture for the Bears two months from now. They don’t need a wide receiver, which means the odds are high that the 25th pick will either be an edge rusher or an offensive tackle. The strategy isn’t a bad one. Of those eight players selected, six of them went on to have productive NFL careers.

Poles and the Bears should have a solid list of options.

Draft experts never predict things the same way, but they do view certain names as plausible options in the mid-20s range for the Bears to choose from. There is Utah left tackle Caleb Lomu or Georgia left tackle Monroe Freeling. Both are excellent athletes at the position with solid pass protection skills. Then you have Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor and Missouri defensive end Zion Young. Both had breakout seasons in 2025. Mesidor went to the national championship game while Young dominated the Senior Bowl.

All of this comes down to who is on the board when the Bears go on the clock. Ryan Poles will likely have a specific guy he really likes. That is often how it works with him. The issue this time is that it won’t be his decision alone. Head coach Ben Johnson has final say on all major roster decisions. He’ll have to sign off on the pick before it happens. That said, don’t expect Johnson to resist the idea of adding a pass protector or pass rusher. He understands how football works better than anybody.

Chris Simms played in the NFL for years and has covered it since retiring. His father is also a two-time Super Bowl champion. So the former quarterback knows a thing or two about head coaches and what separates the great ones from everybody else. There are several factors, but the overarching connection among them is a borderline unhealthy obsession with football. They are so dialed in on every single thing their players and coaches do that it comes across as psychotic behavior. Simms believes Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson fits into this category.

Mind you, Simms doesn’t mean this in a bad way. He explained to CHGO that such a mentality as Johnson showed during the 2025 season is often what many future greats have shown.

“He’s a psycho – and all good coaches are psychos,” said NBC analyst Chris Simms, a former quarterback. “(Kyle) Shanahan is a psycho. (Sean) McVay is psycho. (Mike) Vrabel’s a psycho. (Bill) Belichick was psycho. Bill Walsh was a psycho. Bill Parcells was a psycho. You got to be a psycho. Period. I think you guys see that in the press conferences. And I mean psycho in a good way. It’s all about football. It’s all about pushing buttons to be better at football.”

Those coaches prove that it isn’t about background. Offense? Defense? That doesn’t matter. It comes down to how you motivate and how disciplined you are with players. It’s about getting them to play smart, detailed football. That requires a level of obsession that many coaches don’t have.

Ben Johnson already has the attention to detail.

Bears players joked and mildly complained from the outset about the head coach’s constant pestering about every small thing they did wrong in practice. Nothing was allowed to slide. If you didn’t execute a play how he wanted, you’d be sent to the sideline, and somebody else would be brought in. The standard was set from the beginning. There would be no grading on a curve. Either you could do the job or not. This keen eye would carry over into his play calling.

Johnson quickly earned a reputation for masterfully setting up defenses throughout the game. He would run a specific type of play multiple times. Then in the 4th quarter, he’d show the same play again, only this time it would do something completely different, often resulting in a touchdown. The game-winning score to D.J. Moore against Green Bay in the wild card round was one such example. His razor-sharp memory made it possible. This is a quality you often find in other elite offensive minds. Sean McVay is one such example.

Johnson also understands the value of authenticity.

You’ll find that the worst thing a head coach can do in the NFL is try to be somebody they’re not. The most successful ones are true to themselves. They show the players who they are and what motivates them to be great. That honesty of character is often the quickest way to earn a locker room’s trust. This is something many people doubted Ben Johnson could do. They saw him as too scientific and mathematical. He would never understand how to connect with people. It didn’t take long to realize the opposite was true. Few coaches had a better sense of the moment when motivating players than Johnson. His shirtless celebration after beating Philadelphia was a perfect example.

Great coaches always have an uncanny knack for this kind of thing. They don’t deliver the same cookie-cutter speech after every win. They understand that certain games and opponents mean more than others and craft their motivations accordingly. Everybody remembers Jimmy Johnson’s iconic post-game speech after beating the San Francisco 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship. He knew the caliber of opponent his team had just beaten, and how brutal the climb back to the mountaintop had been for Dallas.

Johnson also has an added bonus that other “psychos” enjoyed.

That is a say over the roster composition. Bill Parcells often clashed with owners and general managers because they wouldn’t give him final say on the players he coached. “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.” It was a concise explanation for a complex problem. Many coaches lack the eye for talent. However, you’ll often find that the psycho coaches Simms referenced don’t have that issue.

It’s still early, but there are already signs Johnson is in that same tier. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai were all instant hits as rookies this year. If that is a taste of things to come, the Bears are in far more capable hands than they could’ve ever dreamed.