Bears announce new addition to Ben Johnson’s staff that is Dan Campbell-like, but one question still remains about another position
Three new coaches are now set to join the Chicago Bears coaching staff going into Ben Johnson’s second season.
The Chicago Bears, for all things considered, made it out of the coaching cycle without many scratches after only losing offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and RBs coach Eric Bieniemy from the first staff created by head coach Ben Johnson.
The Bears made quick work replacing both of those losses by promoting Press Taylor into the offensive coordinator role and hiring Eric Studesville to replace Bieniemy after previously working in the same role for years with the Miami Dolphins.
Bears officially announce two other coaching additions for the 2026 season
Beyond Taylor’s promotion and the addition of Studesville, the Bears also made two other coaching changes by adding Will Lawing as an offensive assistant and Isaiah Ford as an offensive quality control coach.
It was reported weeks ago that Lawing, the former offensive coordinator at Boston College and former college teammate of Johnson’s, was joining the staff in some capacity and now his position has finally been revealed.
As for Ford, Johnson takes a page out of Dan Campbell’s book by adding a former player to his coaching staff. Ford played wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins from 2018-2021 and overlapped with Johnson for two seasons when he was Ford’s wide receivers coach. Ford also was with the Bears for a few months back in 2023 but didn’t appear in the regular season.
Will the Bears have an offensive passing game coordinator on the staff in 2026?
Another note of interest, the Bears did not announce who will take over Taylor’s former role as the team’s passing game coordinator. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune noted that it’s possible the team proceeds into the season without one entirely. It’s not necessarily a bad thing with Johnson calling plays and given Taylor’s experience working with the team’s passing game.
One idea I floated the Bears could explore involved promoting QBs coach J.T. Barrett into that passing game coordinator role and opening the door for quarterback Case Keenum to join the staff as the official QBs coach.
Keenum was already basically a coach last season as the team’s backup behind Caleb Williams and was brought in with the sole intention of being a guiding voice for Chicago’s young franchise quarterback. Keenum is slated to be an unrestricted free agent and if he feels up to the challenge of hanging up the cleats and picking up the whistle, Chicago should come calling.
Chicago Bears News
Declan Doyle is already sounding like a clone of Ben Johnson and shows why great things are on the way for the Ravens
The former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator is looking to bring a similar mindset to Baltimore.
