Bears reportedly targeting Dan Roushar |
Now that Ben Johnson has started to round out his coaching staff, expect more coaching news to follow. Whether that be actual hires or candidate interviews remains to be seen, but the past 36 hours have been hectic regarding coaching news in Chicago.
That continued into the weekend when the Bears officially announced their three new hires and posted several interviews scheduled for the coming days. One of those targets is with the offensive line coach, Dan Roushar, who is a high-priority candidate. It's no secret that the offensive line was the biggest weakness of the Bears' offense, and Johnson discussed that on Friday morning, 670 The Score. For whatever reason, the Bears haven't been able to build an excellent offensive line, and that has hampered the play of Justin Fields and Caleb Williams to this point. There is a reason why so many fans got excited about Hank Fraley potentially joining this staff, as he was the one behind the success of the Lions offensive line. Fraley stayed in Detroit for the time being, but that hasn't stopped Johnson from looking across the NFL for alternative solutions. One of those solutions is Dan Roushar, who is not only one of the best offensive line coaches in the game but also one of the most respected guys. Throw in his previous experience with Dan Campbell, and you have to wonder if there are some smaller connections that no one talks about. The former Northern Illinois coach has bounced around the college and NFL ranks but has 10 years of NFL experience with the Saints. That is where the connection to Campbell comes from. If you remember, the Saints were known for having some very good offensive line play during his years, which is why Drew Brees was able to put up the numbers he did. One thing is getting this offense back on track and playing up to their potential. That will be challenging enough for anyone, but it won't matter who calls the plays if the offensive line play doesn't improve. That is why hiring a new offensive line coach is crucial, as they may have the most complicated job on this entire staff. Coming off a season where Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times (11%) of his dropbacks, it's no secret where the weakness lies on this team. Roushar knows how to build up an offensive line and has done so for a long time. After playing a significant role with Northern Illinois as a player, Roushar got involved in coaching, where he got his start with Michigan State. His career started in 2007 as the offensive line coach before he moved to the tight ends coach position in 2011, where he spent two seasons. After a successful six-year run with the Spartans, Roushar got his opportunity in the NFL, where he joined Sean Payton's staff in New Orleans. What started as the running backs coach from 2013-14 turned into the tight ends coach in 2015 before settling in as the team's offensive line coach from 2016-2020. In those five seasons, the Saints offensive line consistently ranked in the top 10 in terms of the best offensive lines in the game and ranked as high as No. 4 in 2018. He capped off his career with the Saints as the running game coordinator and tight ends coach before returning to college in 2023, where he latched on with Tulane University. He has been there ever since, returning to his roots as the offensive line coach, and has lived up to his reputation as one of the best coaches in the game. While coaching up strong offensive lines is his specialty, Roushar has had a very diverse coaching career, which is something the Bears may also be looking at. Roushar has worked immensely with both the tight end and running backs at most of his stops, and when you look at the Bears offense last season, those are two positions that need to be involved more. This is just a taste of what is happening inside Halas Hall this week, as Johnson knows the task at hand. He knows the best way to build a successful organization is to surround yourself with great coaches, and he has gotten off to a great start quickly.
