By Ross Jackson
After hiring the biggest fish of the NFL coaching cycle this offseason, the Chicago Bears have been picking a lot of talent from the New Orleans Saints’ coaching tree.
First, the Bears landed Ben Johnson as their next head coach. With his Saints’ ties thanks to his years with the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell, he has dipped into the Saints’ pool quite a bit already to build out his coaching staff.
He hired former head coach Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator, former Saints offensive assistant Declan Doyle as his offensive coordinator and brought along former quarterback J.T. Barrett to help coach the position as well.
Up next, Johnson and the Bears look to be on their way to adding former Saints offensive line coach Dan Roushar as well.
Roushar was with the Saints from 2012 to 2022. He has since been coaching the Tulane Green Wave offensive line. While it may be a little awkward should he and Allen (the head coach that fired Roushar in New Orleans) meet in the hallway, the move would make a ton of sense for Chicago.
The Bears surrendered a whopping 68 sacks for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in 2024. With Roushar at the helm in New Orleans, the Saints produced several Pro Bowl and All-Pro players on the offensive line including linemen Ryan Ramczyk, Andrus Peat, Larry Warford and Terron Armstead.
Since Roushar’s departure in New Orleans, offensive line play regressed with Doug Marrone at the helm. Last year, the unit saw a lot of improvement (when healthy) thanks to newly added offensive line coach John Benton. The Saints may have another change at the position this season, depending on their next head coach.
The Senior Bowl rumor mill made it clear that this hire is expected, though nothing is official yet. If he is the hire, it would be another solid one by the Bears.
