Ben Johnson's first year with the Chicago Bears has been a resounding success. In just his first year at the helm, Johnson has turned this team into a dark-horse contender in the NFC. Chicago claimed the NFC North this season and made it to the Divisional Round, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in a heartbreaker.
This early into his tenure, though, Johnson is already facing a common problem that good teams have: losing their coordinators. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was hired by the Baltimore Ravens this offseason. With that in mind, the Bears have been searching for their next OC.
The team didn't need to go too far to find their new offensive coordinator. After a few weeks of searching, the Bears have announced that they've promoted Press Taylor to their offensive coordinator position. Instead of hiring a new face, Johnson and co. are deciding to prioritize continuity.
“The #Bears are promoting passing game coordinator Press Taylor to offensive coordinator, giving coach Ben Johnson a new top lieutenant, per The Insiders,” Ian Rapoport reported on X. “Taylor was an OC with the #Jaguars until 2024 before working with Johnson. With Declan Doyle in Baltimore, Taylor is the OC.”
As Rapoport mentioned in his post, Taylor's last prominent role in the NFL was as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator with Doug Pederson. The Jags' offense under Taylor and Pederson was uninspiring, even with Taylor calling the shots. That could be a reason why the Bears fanbase will be concerned by this decision.
However, it's important to note that Taylor won't be making major in-game decisions for the Bears. Johnson was the primary play-caller for the Bears last season, and that's unlikely to change. Doyle was primarily involved in game-planning behind the scenes and assisting Johnson. Taylor will likely have a similar role with the Bears this season.
The Bears had the sixth-ranked offense last season in terms of total yardage with 369.2 yards per game.
