Ben Johnson returns for his second season as head coach of the Chicago Bears after a strong first year. The Bears finished 11-6 and missed a shot at the NFC Championship Game in a thrilling overtime loss to the Rams. Press Taylor takes over as offensive coordinator. Caleb Williams returns after showcasing his magic last season. The Bears bring back their top running backs, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, along with Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Luther Burden III, and Rome Odunze in the receiving corps. They will try to offset the loss of DJ Moore with Kalif Raymond, who comes over from the Lions. The offensive line returns Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright, and Theo Benedet. Braxton Jones is another full-time starter who only played in six games last year. Garrett Bradbury takes over at center, coming over from the Patriots.

Dennis Allen returns for his second season as defensive coordinator. The Bears only return four of their top eleven tacklers from a year ago. Tremaine Edmunds, Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard, and Nashon Wright, who led the team in tackles a season ago, have found new homes in 2026. Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, T.J. Edwards, and Devin Bush return in the front seven. The Bears are excited to see Neville Gallimore in action, coming over from the Colts. Noah Sewell starts the season on the PUP list. Tyrique Stevenson and Jaylon Johnson return to a secondary that will be without newly acquired Coby Bryant, who is on IR, and Kyler Gordon, who is on the PUP list. The Bears are eager to get a look at rookie Dillon Thieneman, Xavier Woods from the Titans, Cam Lewis from the Bills, and Clark Phillips III, who was acquired from Atlanta.

Richard Hightower returns for his fifth season as special teams coordinator. Cairo Santos is back as placekicker after connecting on 83% of his kicks last year. Big-leg punter Tory Taylor returns as well. Kalif Raymond will take over as the primary return man, with rookie Zavion Thomas providing another option. The Bears are more sound on offense to start the year. On defense, they are missing the majority of their top tacklers from a year ago. Chicago was extremely impressive last year, but you can’t count on Lady Luck being in your corner as much as it was last year.