The Chicago Bears added talent on both sides of the ball in the offseason and are projected to be much better than the previous year. It’s about time we look and see the Chicago Bears’ biggest improvements heading into 2025.
Chicago Bears’ Biggest Improvements Heading Into 2025
Coaching
As most fans and analysts would agree, the Bears got a MAJOR upgrade in the coaching department. They went from Matt Eberflus to Ben Johnson. Eberflus was fired after the Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions and had an underwhelming 14-32 record as the Bears’ head coach.
Ben Johnson was easily the hottest name on the market and the Bears landed their big fish. Johnson spent the last few years as the offensive coordinator and play caller of the Detroit Lions. They were putting together very productive seasons with him at the helm and now he gets to try and correct the course for the Bears organization that has been lacking in the offensive department for quite some time.
They also added former Saints head coach Dennis Allen to be their defensive coordinator. Allen is at worst a lateral move from Eberflus as the defensive play caller, but at best can be a top defensive coordinator in the entire league. The Chiefs and Eagles met in the Super Bowl last year and each had a defensive coordinator that was a failed head coach in Vic Fangio and Steve Spagnuolo. Sometimes all a team needs is an offensive mastermind head coach, and an absolute maniac to handle the defensive side. The Bears might have done that with Johnson and Allen.
Trenches, Trenches, Trenches
Just like Eberflus, the Bears’ offensive and defensive lines were not great the last couple of years. Focusing on mainly offense, the Bears went from Tevin Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, and Nate Davis to Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson. This is the biggest overhaul for a single unit in the entire league.
Defensively, the Bears kept mainly the same guys to headline their group. Andrew Billings, Montez Sweat, and Gervon Dexter are all still there and look to build on solid 2024 campaign. The one thing that hurt the Bears the most was their depth. When Billings went down with an injury against the Cardinals, they didn’t have the depth to replace his production and impact. Now, the can deploy a very deep unit of Sweat, Billings, Dexter, Grady Jarrett, Shemar Turner, and Dayo Odeyingbo.
This group isn’t necessarily filled with superstars, but the improvement in the depth is just as important as adding top tier talent. If one were to go down with an injury, the next man up is more than capable of filing that role and keeping the defense at a similar level.
Pass Catchers
Even though the Bears had talented guys in the receiver and tight end rooms coming into the draft, that didn’t keep them from adding to each of them with their first two picks. Coleston Loveland and Luther Burden III are two very talented pass catchers and they join a skill position group already holding D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and Deandre Swift.
The biggest reason why this is such an important upgrade is the financials. Yes, the Bears could have resigned Keenan Allen to keep the main trio from 2024 together, but they got a higher ceiling and younger player in Burden for a much lower price tag. This provides more financial flexibility in the next three to four years while quarterback Caleb Williams is on a rookie contract.
The Bears are seemingly making all the right moves during the 2025 offseason. These improvements should lead to a much better on-field product than the year before. If this new regime can’t bring the Bears success, nobody can.
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas – USA Today Sports
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