Following their heartbreaking playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson already saw his coaching staff get shaken up. On Monday, it was reported that running backs coach Eric Bieniemy would be leaving the Windy City to return to the Kansas City Chiefs to be their offensive coordinator.
That wasn’t the news Bears fans weren’t expecting to hear, especially given the performance of the running game this season. That said, Johnson isn’t wasting time making additions to his staff for next season.
On Tuesday, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that Boston College offensive coordinator Will Lawing is set to depart the school, with the Bears being considered as a potential landing spot.
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien seemingly confirmed Zenitz’s report when speaking with the media on Tuesday.
“We’ll see what we do there with Will. Wish Will the best. Will's been with me for 13 years… He's been with me for a long time. He would describe that as dog years. But he had a great opportunity to go work for Ben [Johnson],” O’Brien said via Kim Rankin of Boston College Eagles on SI.
As of right now, we don’t know what role Lawing will have on Johnson’s staff, but we do know that he has a notable amount of NFL experience under his belt.
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Lawing, who was a teammate of Johnson’s at the University of North Carolina, has spent the last two years at Boston College as their offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Before going to Boston College with O’Brien, Lawing coached tight ends in 2023 with the New England Patriots, where he had the chance to work with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
He also worked at the University of Alabama for two years as an offensive analyst. Lawing also had a six-year run with the Houston Texans, where he held multiple positions, including tight ends coach (2019-20).
Based on his NFL and collegiate coaching experience, he could work with the Bears’ passing game and possibly the tight end spot.
This season at Boston College, the Eagles had the third-best passing offense in the ACC, averaging 280.2 yards per game. However, Boston College wasn’t the best rushing team in the conference with 103.9 yards per game (third-fewest in the ACC).
Chicago currently employs Jim Dray as its tight ends coach. While he was a holdover from the previous regime, Dray has done a good job with rookie Colston Loveland, who has the talent to be a top-10 tight end in the league.
That being said, it would be shocking to see the Bears cut ties with Dray all of a sudden. It will be interesting to see what Lawing’s title will be in Chicago, and where Johnson feels his expertise can be put to use, once the hiring is made official.