The Chicago Bears are suddenly in the market for a new running backs coach after a successful 2025 season in the first year of the Ben Johnson era. Following their tough loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, the Bears saw RBs coach Eric Bieniemy surprisingly depart the organization to return to the Kansas City Chiefs to become their offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy did an outstanding job managing the Bears' backfield in 2025, as D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai had terrific seasons. That said, whoever takes over as his replacement will be stepping into a good situation.
Thus far, Bears fans haven’t heard much about who could take over for Bieniemy, but that might change with the Cleveland Browns naming a new head coach on Wednesday. The Browns hired Todd Monken as their new head coach, per ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi, after spending the last three years as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator.
With Monken taking over as the head guy in charge, it's not guaranteed that Browns RBs coach Duce Staley will stick around in the offseason, opening the door for Johnson to reunite with the former Detroit Lions coach.
Browns' HC Surprise Might Help Bears Fill Eric Bieniemy's Shoes
Staley spent two seasons in Detroit (2021, 2022) as the Lions' assistant head coach and RBs coach. During those two years, the former NFL running back had a chance to work with Swift and Jamaal Williams.
Under Staley’s tutelage, Swift had 1,069 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns in 2021. He followed that up with 931 scrimmage yards and eight total TDs in 2022, despite not being a full-time starter. Meanwhile, Williams had the best year of his career in 2022, as defenses have no answers for him once he gets into the red zone. The veteran running back racked up 1,066 yards and 17 TDs (league-high) on 262 carries.
If the Bears were able to hire Staley, one could only imagine what he could do with Swift and Monangai in 2026. Swift is a completely different player at this stage of his career from what he was in 2021 and 2022.
It also helps that Swift already has a previous history with Staley. Meanwhile, Monangai showed in just one year that he’s just scratching the surface of what he could be in the NFL. He clearly shouldn’t have been drafted in the seventh round, but that worked out for the Bears.
If Staley can get his hands on Monangai, there’s no telling what he can do in Year 2, as he could make a case to be the lead in 2027 with Swift being a free agent after next season.
With all that being said, it will be interesting to see how things play out for Staley. Other teams will put their bids in for his expertise, leaving time to tell if the Bears want to get a head start on a potential hiring.