Bears Cut Ties With 5 Coaches Right After Hiring Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson officially began his tenure as Chicago Bears head coach on Wednesday with his introductory press conference. That being said, Johnson now has to start assembling a coaching staff. During his press conference on Wednesday, Johnson made it a point that he wants to build a staff of experienced coordinators who might also have head coaching experience.

Typically, new head coaches don't retain a ton of coaches from the previous staff, and Johnson is no exception. According to Adam Jahns of the Athletic, five coaches from the Bears 2024 coaching staff have already been let go.

Bears Move on From Much of 2024 Coaching Staff

Johnson and the Bears are moving on from interim head coach Thomas Brown, interim OC/WR coach Chris Beatty, OL line coach Chris Morgan, QB coach Kerry Joseph and defensive coordinator Eric Washington.

Johnson moving on from these five caches is not surprising in the slightest. Although the idea of Thomas Brown returning as the offensive coordinator was talked about by some fans and analysts, it was never truly a possibility. Brown likely wouldn't accept a demotion to offensive coordinator after serving as the team's interim head coach, and it's hard to blame him for that.

Furthermore, the decision not to retain Chris Morgan and Eric Washington is one every Bears fan can get behind. Both Washington and Morgan's units struggled mighty in 2024. Morgan definitely shoulders more of the blame for the offensive line's bad play, given he was more hands-on with them all season.

Washington, on the other hand, took over the defense after head coach Matt Ebrtflus was fired in Week 13. Prior to that, Eberflus was calling the defense, which had been struggling for about two months. When Washington took over, there wasn't much he could do in a short amount of time. Yet, his performance still warranted a firing.

Lastly, Kerry Joseph and Chris Beatty seemed to lack impact for the position groups they were coaching. Beatty's wide receivers had tons of drops this season, which hurt the offense. Moreover, Beatty seemed unable to get linear progression out of Rome Odunze during his rookie season.

Likewise, Joseph was unable to help Caleb Williams take big strides in his rookie season. Now, that's not all his fault, given all the coaching turmoil this season, but fans and the organization would have liked to see a bit more development from Williams.

Nevertheless, keeping an eye on who Johnson hires to fill these positions is important for the Bears' future.

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