Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. David Banks-Imagn Images

New Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson cleaned house

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated Jan 26, 2025 2:46 PM ET

New Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was preparing the Detroit Lions to play the Washington Commanders a week ago. On Thursday, multiple changes were announced.

During his introductory news conference on Wednesday, Johnson identified issues Chicago had in 2024. He called out the offensive line.

"I think offensive line is certainly an area that we need to get better play from going forward," Johnson said, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

The 38-year-old had high praise for the Bears.

“Going into this season I felt like this place was a sleeping giant,” Johnson said. “I was personally more concerned about the Bears than I was any other team in the division.”

New Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson cleaned house

On Thursday, the Bears made sweeping changes to the coaching staff, choosing not to retain interim head coach Thomas Brown, offensive coordinator Chris Beatty, offensive line coach Chris Morgan, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and defensive coordinator Eric Washington, per Adam Jahns of The Athletic.

Interim head coach Thomas Brown, interim OC/WRs coach Chris Beatty, OL line coach Chris Morgan, QB coach Kerry Joseph and defensive coordinator Eric Washington will not be retained by the Bears.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) January 23, 2025

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Johnson chose not to retain those coaches.

Brown received credit for helping to elevate Caleb Williams after the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The brief offensive success earned Brown the promotion to interim head coach when Matt Eberflus was fired.

But Chicago’s offense regressed with Brown taking on the head-coaching role.

The Bears scored 13 points against the San Francisco 49ers, 12 points against the Minnesota Vikings, 17 points against the Detroit Lions and three points against the Seattle Seahawks before earning a 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 18.

The Bears are also adding to their coaching staff.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday, the Bears are expected to hire Antwaan Randle El to be their new assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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