Silvy: The Bears got the coach. Can they get the offensive line next?

It’s been a good week at Halas Hall – something of a rarity this past football season.

After the dust settled on Zoom call after Zoom call, the Bears haven’t heard the usual cat calls from the fanbase. Ben Johnson had smart, thorough answers for most of the questions asked. He has followed up the talk with the hirings of a well-rounded coaching staff.

I love the fact that Dennis Allen is an accomplished defensive coordinator that has presided over top defenses. Allen spent two stints under Sean Payton and was the Saints defensive backs coach the year they won the Super Bowl. While Allen’s two head coaching stints weren’t successful, he can help Johnson navigate the pitfalls of being a first-time head coach and allow Johnson focus his time on offense.

Declan Doyle is a young offensive mind from the Sean Payton tree and Antwaan Randle El’s homecoming will provide energy and accountability to the wide receiver room.

While the vibes flow, I’ll continue to warn Bears fans to proceed cautiously. We must not celebrate offseason success until we see it manifest into wins on the field. We’ve fallen for the false hope too often and even though being positive is a healthy mindset, taking it too far will only set ourselves up for future sports depression.

The truth is, hiring Ben Johnson is probably the easiest move Ryan Poles will make. Much like drafting Caleb Williams, it was chalk. Both were regarded by the consensus as slam dunk picks. It doesn’t mean Poles doesn’t deserve credit, because he does—hopefully he learned his lesson with Williams and will support the move properly. It isn’t enough to bring in Johnson’s playbook, pair it with Williams, wave a magic wand and expect it all to work.

Let’s use the Philadelphia Eagles as an example. Since 2017, the Eagles are 83-48 overall with three Super Bowl appearances and one championship. When you dig deeper, you’ll see the Eagles have had five offensive coordinators, four defensive coordinators, and two head coaches over that span. They won their Super Bowl with the quarterback combo of Carson Wentz and Nick Foles. Current head coach Nick Siriani is on and off the hotseat like a impatient toddler at the dinner table and Jalen Hurts isn’t viewed as a top quarterback. Yet all Philly does is win.

The one constant for the Eagles is Howie Roseman who has been with the Eagles since he was a 24-year-old intern and climbed the ladder to GM in 2010. He continues to builds the strength of his team up front on both lines. Something the Bears have blatantly ignored. Ironically, Poles and his assistant GM Ian Cunningham worked for the two Super Bowl teams before joining the Bears.

The Chiefs have waived goodbye to several talented skill position players over the years and put money into protecting Patrick Mahomes and getting after the opposing quarterback. And while the Eagles signed Saquan Barkley, his numbers skyrocketed thanks to running behind Philly’s offensive line. Over the first six years of his career, Barkley averaged 4.3 yards per carry and never rushed for more than 1,312 yards in a season. This year, Barkley rushed for 5.8 yards per carry and a total of 2,005 yards on the ground. If you build it up front, he will run.

In an apples to apples comparison, D’Andre Swift has carried the ball 200-plus times twice in his career – in 2023 with the Eagles and 2024 with the Bears. Swift averaged 4.6 yards per carry with Philly and a career low 3.8 yards per carry with the Bears.

No matter the era of football, no matter how much the rules have changed, most good football teams are built with talent on both lines. It’s still shocking to me that Poles and Cunningham, who learned from Andy Reid, Brett Veach, Scott Pioli, Roseman, and Ozzie Newsome thought they could cut corners and build a successful, sustainable program without putting big time assets into their lines – especially on offense.

That must change now or we’ll be talking about a GM search to kickoff 2026. I don’t know about you, but I’m searched out.

It’s time for the Bears to find a winning season.

So while everyone has a smile on their face, and the coaching staff sits down with the personnel department after the Senior Bowl, the congratulatory hugs need to end and the demands need to begin. Braxton Jones isn’t good enough to start at left tackle in this offense. Two new starting guards must be acquired through the draft and/or free agency. And no more patchworking at center with the likes of Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, and Coleman Shelton.

On defense, the plan at edge rusher opposite of Montez Sweat can’t be one of hoping a rotation is good enough, it must be filled with a definitive answer.

The Chiefs won 15 games this season while the Eagles won 14. Poles has built a team that has won 15 total games over the past three seasons. Getting the quarterback and the coach is never easy, but in this case, it was simplest job he’ll have. Like a new house, it will do wonders for the curb appeal but nobody wants to live in it if it’s built on a shaky foundation. The Bears foundation up front was built in quick sand.

Johnson won the press conference but now he must win the draft room by demanding Poles fixes these issues. If not, the catcalls will return and so will more Zoom calls for a new GM.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.