The 2025 season has been nothing short of magical for the Chicago Bears. After coming off one of their more miserable seasons in recent history, turning the calendar past 2024 couldn’t come soon enough.

A year that started with a Week 18 victory against the Green Bay Packers catapulted into something much more. 

To understand the angst most Bears fans felt heading into their coaching staff, one must go back to the post-Lovie Smith era in 2013. Following a 10-6 season in which they missed the playoffs, new general manager Phil Emery ripped off the band-aid on an era that saw the Bears go 81-63 during the regular season, three division titles, a 3-3 playoff record, and a Super Bowl appearance under the beloved head coach. During Smith’s nine-year tenure with the franchise, he posted just three losing seasons. 

At the time, it was easier to understand why the Bears felt like they needed to make a change. Standards were high, and a winning season wasn’t enough, especially after a 7-1 start that resulted in no playoffs. Following an abbreviated search for their next head coach, Emery narrowed it down to two finalists: Bruce Arians and Marc Trestman. Arians was highly regarded, both as an offensive-minded and a no-nonsense leader who had proven himself during his stint as the interim head coach in Indianapolis. Trestman, on the other hand, was an eccentric personality with some success as an NFL playcaller, but his only head coaching experience had come at the CFL level. In the end, Chicago avoided the obvious choice and took a chance on Trestman. 

In hindsight, it made plenty of sense, considering Emery’s personality. The two not only resembled each other but also shared similar personality traits. At the moment, fan excitement revolved around Trestman’s reputation as an innovative offensive mind. Although the bold hire appeared to pay dividends early in 2013, it became clear later in the season that the roster was simply too old to compete for a Super Bowl without more defensive reinforcements. Just two years into the Emery and Trestman experiment, ownership pulled the plug following a tumultuous season that ended with a 5-11 record, coupled with plenty of in-house blowups. 

At the time, the franchise had not experienced a 5-win season since Smith’s first season as the team’s head coach in 2004. Ownership once again sent the message that losing seasons without progress were not acceptable. Unfortunately, due to Emery’s questionable roster management, the Bears needed to fully commit to a rebuild to reach the heights they had initially strived for under Smith. 

Three long seasons after hiring veteran head coach John Fox, the Bears found themselves at a critical crossroads. Losing had become normal, but at least there was a purpose behind it, right? With a second-year quarterback ready to take the next step, they needed a progressive offensive mind to squeeze every drop of juice out of their No. 2 overall pick. That led them to hire Matt Nagy. 

The 2018 Chicago Bears gave fans plenty of reasons to be excited about the future. Not only did they go 12-4 with multiple signature wins, but between their head coach and star players, the team wasn’t short on likable personalities. That offseason was one for the ages and included the acquisitions of multiple key players, including Allen Robinson, Roquan Smith, and, on the eve of the regular season, Khalil Mack. Clinching the division against the Packers was simply the cherry on top of a magical, yet surprising season that was cut short by the infamous double-dink. Despite the playoff heartbreak, optimism surrounding the team’s future was at an all-time high. With a few upgrades and a more experienced roster, Super Bowl aspirations should have been on the table, right? 

The 2019 season served not only as the 100th anniversary of the Bears franchise but also as a serious reality check. The season opened with a disappointing 10-3 home loss to the Packers in front of a national audience. After reeling off three consecutive wins, the bottom fell out of the season. The Bears would lose five of their next six games, dropping to 4-6 on the season. The most concerning aspect wasn’t their win/loss record but the play of their third-year quarterback. Mitchell Trubisky, despite a promising sophomore season, had taken a noticeable step back in his development and was trending in the wrong direction. It all came to a head in a Week 16 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. While the Bears looked like they didn’t belong on an NFL field, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were well on their way to what would be Year 1 of a dominant dynasty. 

The difference in play between Trubisky and Mahomes was startling. One would say night and day, others would say it looked like they were playing two different sports. Keep in mind that at that point, 2019 was Mahomes’ first year as a starting quarterback after redshirting his rookie season behind Alex Smith. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson was also lighting it up in Houston. The Bears would finish 8-8 that season, but it became clear that, for 2018 not to be a fluke, significant changes were needed. 

Despite a second-straight 8-8 finish and a Wild Card berth in 2020, it became abundantly clear that the roster built by general manager Ryan Pace was not only expensive but nowhere near good enough. 2021 was Nagy’s only true losing season as a head coach, but it would be his last. 

With a new regime set to embark on yet another rebuild in 2022, fans were starting to lose hope. The Bears were 10 years removed from firing Smith, and they had just one winning season in that period. Following three disastrous seasons under Matt Eberflus, including his inability to develop two first-round quarterbacks, the Bears were once again back in the market for a head coach.

This time, they were determined to get it right.Â