The Chicago Bears are officially on the coaching search after losing a member of head coach Ben Johnson’s staff, hours after the team’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The brain-drain in Chicago was inevitable following the team’s success this season and the Kansas City Chiefs are the first team to pluck a branch as the team is expected to reunite with former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in the same role after spending a successful season as the Bears running backs coach.

Reunion: All signs are pointing towards Eric Bieniemy returning to the Chiefs as their offensive coordinator, sources say.

With Matt Nagy out of contract and in the head coaching mix, Kansas City plans to bring back Bieniemy, a valued member of Andy Reid’s staff from 2013-22. pic.twitter.com/VtsYJxZ2xR

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 19, 2026

Now, Johnson needs to start looking for a new position coach to lead the room featuring D’Andre Swift and standout rookie Kyle Monangai. Here are some potential options that fit Johnson’s previous assistant criteria or have familiarity working with the Bears head coach.

Bears potential RB coach candidates to replace Eric Bieniemy

Darren Sproles, Former NFL RB

The Bears already have multiple former players on the staff as assistant coaches such as Antwaan Randle-El, Al Harris, and J.T. Barrett. Even Bieniemy was a former NFL running back before joining the coaching ranks. It’s clear Johnson values playing experience when it comes to his positional staff. Johnson also has a lot of ties to the Sean Payton tree.

Both of those traits make former NFL running back Darren Sproles an intriguing option. After a 14-year NFL career, Sproles is looking to get into the coaching scene and got some interest from the Detroit Lions last February, but a position on Dan Campbell’s staff never came to fruition. Back in August, Payton named Sproles as the one former player he’d like to bring on as a coach and said that Sproles would join his staff in Denver next fall as a coaching intern. Johnson should jump the gun and offer him a more prominent role.

“Darren Sproles is one of the smartest football players I’ve ever been around,” – Sean Payton #Saints

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 13, 2014

Scottie Montgomery, Detroit Lions Assistant HC/WR

It’d be hard to see the Lions let Scottie Montgomery leave for Chicago after rising up the coaching ranks under Dan Campbell. Montgomery first joined the staff as the assistant head coach and running backs coach while Johnson was the offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024. Montgomery had previous experience coaching the position with the Indianapolis Colts as well from 2021-2022.

The reason Montgomery is an option is because the Lions just hired a new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing. It’s unlikely, but Petzing could look to shake up the offensive staff depending what kind of influence Campbell gives him for those decisions. Again, it’s unlikely and there’s other coaches that could make more sense with ties to the Lions’ staff.

Duce Staley, Former Cleveland Browns RB Coach

With former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on his way to take over the head coaching role with the Atlanta Falcons, it’s entirely likely that some of his staff follows him. That includes long-time NFL running backs coach and former NFL running back Duce Staley.

However, Johnson could give it a shot to lure him to Chicago. The two overlapped in Detroit when Johnson was the Lions’ tight end coach and Staley was the Lions’ assistant head coach/running backs coach under Dan Campbell. There’s familiarity there and Staley has a long track record of success.

Anthony Lynn, Washington Commanders RB Coach

Another former member of the 2021 Lions staff. Anthony Lynn served as the Lions offensive coordinator prior to promoting Johnson and has years of experience coaching the running back position following an NFL career of his own.

Lynn recently coached the running backs with the Washington Commanders under head coach Dan Quinn the last two seasons but after firing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Lynn could be looking for a new home in 2026 as well.

Eddie George, Bowling Green University Head Coach

The former four-time Pro Bowl running back was in consideration for the Bears head coach opening before the job went to Johnson last January. George has been on Chicago’s radar for a while now and been coaching at the college ranks with Tennessee State and most recently Bowling Green.

In 2023, George worked with the Bears during OTAs as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and was impressed with the organization after getting to know team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles.

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