Report: Bears set to hire new offensive line coach Dan Roushar |
It took long enough, but the Chicago Bears have found their man to coach the offensive line in 2025. His name has been floated around several times in the past few weeks, and the Bears conducted multiple interviews with him.
Despite what some conflicting reports may have said over the last few days, it does appear the Bears have found their man, Da,n Roushar, and the Bears have come to terms on a contract this season. While hiring a college-level coach comes with risk, Roushar has plenty of NFL experience under his belt, and many felt this name would land in Chicago one way or another. As important as every hire is for Ben Johnson, you could make the case that the Roushar hire is the most crucial hire thus far. The 64-year-old is now entering a situation where the Bears have not only had a horrendous offensive line for years but have the money to upgrade at that position. It will be up to Roushar to coach the new cast of players coming in the way he sees fit with the ultimate goal of, at the very least, having them play at a top-15 offensive line in football. Roushar is a familiar name around Chicago as he spent four seasons with the University of Illinois from 1995-96 and then again in 2003-2004. He also spent six seasons with the Northern Illinois staff from 1997-2002, serving several positions, including offensive coordinator. After his second run with Illinois, Roushar made the journey to Michigan State, where he served as their offensive line coach from 2007 to 2010 and was once again an offensive coordinator for the next two years. It wasn't until the 2013 season that Roushar got his first big break, landing a job with the New Orleans Saints. It was the first time in his coaching career that he had an opportunity to coach in the NFL, and for what it is worth, he spent several seasons with Dennis Allen, who was the defensive coordinator at the time, and Dan Campbell, who was Johnson's boss. You have to think his relationship with Allen had something to do with this hire, as Roushar is known as an excellent coach across the board. Whether it be the running backs coach, the tight ends coach, or even the passing game coordinator, Roushar excelled no matter the role, but his work as their offensive line coach stood out. From 2016-2020, Roushar was the Saints offensive line coach, and although it may get overlooked, he was great at what he did. During those years, the Saints were known for having one of the best and most physical offensive lines in the game. They landed in the top 10 in four of those five seasons, with one season being ranked in the top five in terms of offensive line production. Considering where the Bears have ranked in the last few years, they would kill to have that type of production, so it will be interesting to see what Roushar can teach this group. Hearing Roushar reach an agreement with the Bears shouldn't be a surprise, considering his name was mentioned very early after Johnson became the next head coach. He not only knows what he is doing, but when you look at the variety of roles he has filled, including an offensive playcaller, you wonder if that played a role in bringing him aboard. Hiring a guy with this much experience is not only a good thing, but it's a slam dunk as Caleb Williams is coming off a season where he was sacked a league-high 68 times. Granted, some of those sacks were on him, but the offensive line still needs to play better, and adding Roushar is a step in the right direction to get that done. Even with all the sacks and hits he took as a rookie, Williams still showed plenty of promise under center and proved he was worth the number one overall selection. This season will be crucial to Williams and his future, but his success or failure will come from the play in front of him. No one expects Roushar to come here and fix the line overnight, but he expects to improve this unit. If there was ever a guy to that, he may be the one as Chicago is counting on him to do something that hasn't been done in years.
