As teams gear up for the postseason, the Bears head to the offseason
After wrapping up the 2024 season with a much-needed win, the Chicago Bears are headed to the long offseason.
They are already well into their head coaching search.
Such is the dichotomy of the NFL. A dozen teams are still alive for the championship while over half the league is taking vacations and turning their focus to roster evaluation and draft prep.
So for a final time let’s roll through the power rankings following the NFL’s regular season.
25. Chicago Bears (25) Winning matters. Coming back to beat the Packers allows the Bears to feel better after a tough season. Caleb Williams told Fox after the game, “That’s a good start to the 2025 season,” and that’s spot-on. That’s more important to building something than a few draft position slots.
27. Chicago Bears (27) Whether it was No. 1 pick Caleb Williams predicting the Bears wouldn’t be punting much, Tyrique Stevenson taunting fans instead of defending a Hail Mary or former head coach Matt Eberflus’ unwillingness to take responsibility, Chicago’s season was marked by unfulfilled hubris. Williams finished 32nd in EPA per dropback (minus-.05), and the Bears have now missed the playoffs in four straight seasons. Chicago hasn’t won a playoff game in 14 years.
24 Chicago Bears (24) They have to hire the right coach to change this team’s culture and build it around Caleb Williams. He did some good things as a rookie, which gives the franchise hope.
23 Chicago Bears (23) Caleb Williams’ often-trying season ended on a high note, as he led a pretty gutsy late drive to take down a playoff-bound Packers team that was playing to win. D.J. Moore’s late fumble (after Keenan Allen’s trick-play INT) felt like the latest gaffe in a season full of them. But credit Williams for making a few massive throws to Rome Odunze and Moore to set up the game-winning field goal. It was a fitting way to come full circle after the Packers blocked a similar try in Chicago earlier this year. Don’t tell Bears fans that beating the Packers doesn’t matter; if nothing else, they’re just sick of losing to them, especially in Green Bay. The Bears have miles to go before they pass the Packers, as a huge offseason looms. But amid all the doom and gloom, the kernels of talent on both sides of the ball make this an attractive destination for the next head coach.
Pro-Football Talk – Mike Florio
23. Bears (No. 24; 5-12): The next hire might be the most important one they’ve made in years.
23 Chicago Bears (23) I respect the Bears for publicly signaling their willingness to cast a wide net in their coaching search, but it doesn’t yet seem clear that developing Caleb WIlliams is their top priority—and it needs to be. Since the Lovie Smith era, this team has a history of toggling between offensive and defensive minded coaches, and now isn’t the time to break that trend. If Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is truly their top target—and he should be high on the list, given that he’s been the best play caller in the NFL for the past two years—there’s no expense too big. Theoretically, the Bears have the right kind of infrastructure to support a coach like Johnson too, with enough powerful people in the personnel department to allow him to focus solely on the on-field product.
What do you think of the Bears’ position as they head into the offseason?