The Chicago Bears' process of building a star-studding supporting staff under first-time head coach Ben Johnson continues to be an effective one.
The staff Johnson is putting together on paper has been fantastic so far and some more key hirings are still on the horizon for the Bears.
Late on Friday night, Johnson made another fantastic addition to his coaching staff by plucking yet another branch off the Sean Payton tree to be responsible for leading the defensive line.
According to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, the Bears made things official with Bill Johnson to become the team's next defensive line coach, reuniting with Bears' new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
Allen and Johnson overlapped for two seasons on Sean Payton's staff with the New Orleans Saints from 2015-2016. Johnson spent eight total seasons under Payton in New Orleans and was on the staff during the Saints' Super Bowl XLIV win in 2009.
After leaving New Orleans, Johnson joined Sean McVay's staff with the Los Angeles Rams from 2017-2018 where he was a part of another Super Bowl coaching staff in 2018. While with the Saints, Johnson also notably coached defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards in those two seasons under Johnson's guidance.
Johnson's next step after Los Angeles was back in Louisiana, but this time as the defensive line coach and analyst at LSU from 2019-2021. Johnson was on the staff during the historic 2019 National Championship season for the Tigers, a season in which six players recorded 3.0+ sacks, including 6.5 sacks from K'Lavon Chaisson, who went on to become a first-round pick by the Jaguars in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Johnson then got some more defensive line experience with the USFL, leading two stints with the Birmingham Stallions and one with the Houston Roughnecks. The 2022 Stallions team Johnson helped coach actually ended up winning the USFL Championship. Linebacker DeMarquis Gates led the Stallions with 6.5 sacks that season and went on to play two seasons for the Bears from 2022-2023.
Needless to say, everyone this guy has been, success has followed. As has incredible seasons from the top players under his guidance. This hire is going to be huge for the entire defense and most importantly his new top pass rushers in Chicago: defensive end Montez Sweat and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr.
