The vibes are back. <\/p>\n
From the coaching cycle, to the combine, to free agency, to the draft, to minicamps, the Bears dominated once again. <\/p>\n
There are plenty of offseason championship jokes to go around Chicago, but the Bears did do some major heavy lifting since the end of a dysfunctional 2024 season.<\/p>\n
With OTAs in the rearview mirror, the team heads into the only true off portion of the offseason. The next time the Bears get together it will be for training camp and the real start of the 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll give Ryan Poles<\/a> a B+ for how he\u2019s navigated the NFL landscape from January til now. Here are my favorite moves:<\/p>\n 1. Ben Johnson<\/a> hired as head coach. <\/p>\n He was the top prospect for what ailed the Bears and so far, has hit every mark for how he\u2019s conducted business inside Halas Hall.<\/p>\n Smart, well spoken and demanding \u2013 he quickly has shown he\u2019s more than just a coordinator holding the head coach title. I could not be more impressed, and while I have been fooled before, I\u2019d be shocked if Johnson isn\u2019t a long term solution.<\/p>\n 2. Trading for and extending Joe Thuney<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s extremely rare for an All-Pro and winner like Thuney to become available and at your biggest weakness to boot. He\u2019s on the older side, but still should have two or three years of great football left. Thuney blocked for and won with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. He can help Caleb Williams<\/a> in more ways than one.<\/p>\n 3. Signing Drew Dalman<\/p>\n No more patchwork at center. Poles failed in past years and finally figured it out. Dalman is good and in the prime of his career.<\/p>\n 4. Hiring Johnson\u2019s coaching staff.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why this shouldn\u2019t be included with the head coach. In 1999, when the Bears identified Dave McGinnis as their target, the plan fell apart when the team didn\u2019t want to pay McGinnis\u2019 choices for assistants. Johnson has former players and experienced\/accomplished assistants at virtually every position group.<\/p>\n 5. Signing Grady Jarrett.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t as sure of a thing as trading for Thuney. While they\u2019re both the same age, Jarrett isn\u2019t at the top of his game like Thuney, but he still provides production. Last year\u2019s leadership committee didn\u2019t have one player like Jarrett.<\/p>\n 6. Stadium Focus is back to Arlington Heights. <\/p>\n