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 fell short of the NFC Championship Game in an overtime loss to the Rams. Press Taylor takes over as offensive coordinator. Caleb Williams returns after showcasing his magic last season, but he suffered a right hamstring injury in Week 2 against Minnesota and is considered week-to-week. 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, and Darnell Wright. 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, while Theo Benedet provides experience and depth.

Dennis Allen returns for his second season as defensive coordinator. The Bears only return four of their top eleven tacklers from a year ago. Chicago lost its top four tacklers from last season, as Tremaine Edmunds, Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard, and Nahshon Wright have all found new homes in 2026. That turnover leaves Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, T.J. Edwards, and Devin Bush as the main returning pieces in the front seven. The Bears are excited to see Neville Gallimore in action after he comes over from the Colts. Noah Sewell starts the season on the PUP list. Tyrique Stevenson and Jaylon Johnson return to a secondary 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 also returns. 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 most of their top tacklers from a year ago. Chicago was extremely impressive last year, but that level of luck is hard to count on again, so a repeat of that success looks unlikely.