No new Bears assistant had a more fruitful first few months on the job than offensive line coach Dan Roushar.
Shortly after Roushar was added to coach Ben Johnson's staff, the Bears completely revamped their interior offensive line by trading for Pro Bowl guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and signing top free agent center Drew Dalman.
"Unbelievable," said Roushar, who boasts 40 years of coaching experience. "Great additions to the team. They're phenomenal locker room guys. I think they're going to be fantastic in the meeting room, and what we do know about all of them is that they've got really great work ethic and they'll be phenomenal examples for us."
The Bears acquired Thuney from the Chiefs in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. In nine NFL seasons, he has won four Super Bowls—two with the Patriots and two with the Chiefs—was named first-team All-Pro each of the past two years and was chosen as a Pro Bowler each of the last three seasons.
"He's extremely humble," Roushar said. "He's really smart. He knows exactly how to play the game. He knows how to prepare. He's really got a great mind from a football standpoint. I feel like he is going to have a phenomenal presence with the group. Not a vocal guy. Very humble but true action. And just my observations of him interacting with our players, I already see a real positive impact."
In addition to acquiring Thuney, Bears general manager Ryan Poles dealt a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Rams for Jackson and signed Dalman to a three-year deal.
"We're excited about what we were able to do," said Roushar, who spent 10 seasons as an offensive assistant with the Saints from 2013-22. "I thought Ryan and Ben, with their guidance, we made a major statement about improving the competitive character in our room, improving the ability to play the game at a high level. In each of those guys, we got smart, tough guys that love football, and that's a big deal. They've shown for the most part to be durable ... and having them available is big."
Dynamic duo
New receivers coach Antwaan Randle El is excited about working with a group that's led by veteran DJ Moore and second-year pro Rome Odunze.
In two seasons with the Bears, Moore has caught 194 passes for 2,330 yards and 14 touchdowns—ranking sixth, eighth and tied for 12th in the NFL in those respective categories. Last season the seven-year veteran led the Bears with a career-high 98 receptions for 966 yards and six TDs.
"With DJ, he's done it, he has played the position over and over again," Randle El said. "He's a veteran, he is the guy that we can get the ball to in a lot of different ways. A lot of times, he's catching these screens, but he can run routes. He can come inside and do some things too. I'm excited about that."
Last year when Randle El was the Lions' receivers coach, he ranked Odunze as the No. 1 receiver in the draft, ahead of both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers. The Cardinals picked Harrison fourth and the Giants selected Nabers sixth before the Bears took Odunze ninth.
In his first NFL season, Odunze caught 54 passes for 734 yards and three TDs, joining Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka as the only Bears rookies with at least 50 receptions and 700 yards.
"The biggest thing with Rome is that he has the height, and as tall as he is, the length that he has, he can drop his weight and get in and out of his routes," Randle El said. "I'm glad that he's here because here we go."
Randle El plans on taking a hands-on approach with Odunze in practice because of the Washington product's limited NFL experience.
"If he makes a little mistake, correct it right away, so he can grow day-in and day-out," Randle El said. "With DJ, he already knows those little mistakes. I may just look at him and he'll know right away, versus I've got to go to Rome and get after him a little bit so he knows. The thing about Rome is he has a huge upside. I've got to be able to nourish that so he can grow as a player."
Striving for perfection
New running backs coach Eric Bieniemy agrees with those who describe his coaching style as "hard-nosed" and "no-nonsense."
"Yes, it is fair to say," Bieniemy said. "But more than anything, I think there's just a love and a passion about who we are as a group and how can we be accountable and making sure there's a standard that we're living up to."
Bieniemy joins the Bears with 26 years of NFL experience, nine as a running back and 17 as an assistant coach, including 10 seasons with the Chiefs as running backs coach (2013-17) and offensive coordinator (2018-22).
"I've had an opportunity to talk to these guys and let them know, 'Hey, listen, we want to strive for perfection in order to achieve excellence, but there's a standard in which we have to live by. We've got to come to work every single day. We've got to make sure we're doing all those things the right way, but when it's time to be at your best, I expect you to be at your best. If you're putting uncharacteristic behavior on tape, yeah, I'm going to get after [you] on that. But if you're putting the right behavior on tape, I'm going to be your biggest fan.'
"When it's all said and done, we just want to make sure that we understand the standard in which our head coach expects us to live by, but on top of that, the standard that we expect to put on tape. When it's all said and done, we want to make sure we're doing it the right way."
