New Chicago Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson continues to line up interview candidates for positions on his coaching staff.
Earlier in the week, we discussed Chicago’s football team’s requests to interview Los Angeles Rams assistant Aubrey Pleasant and Minnesota Vikings coach Daronte Jones for the vacant defensive coordinator position. And on Friday night, there was a report that Chicagoland native Antwaan Randle El was set to follow Johnson from Detroit to coach wide receivers in Chicago. But finally, we have our first reported offensive coordinator request.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has the scoop on Bo Hardegree receiving interest from the Bears:
As Rap Sheet points out above, Ben Johnson and Bo Hardegree have previously worked together. Hardegree was the Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach from 2016-18. At that same time, Johnson served as the Dolphins’ assistant WRs coach (2016-17) and WRs coach (2018).
It feels as if it is worth pointing out that Johnson is lining up interviews with coaches he has worked with in the past. It suggests he has built out a network of assistants he trusts and doesn’t need to raid Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions staff. In the past, the Bears have hired head coaches whose limited NFL contacts showed up in which assistants they hired. And while I’m not sure how this situation ultimately shakes out, it looks like we’re on a different trajectory compared to the past.
Who is Bo Hardegreee and is he a good fit for the Bears?
Let’s take a quick look at Bo Hardegree’s recent coaching history:
- TENNESSEE TITANS: Quarterbacks coach (2024-present)
- LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: Quarterbacks coach (2022-23), Interim offensive coordinator (2023)
- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Offensive assistant (2021)
- NEW YORK JETS: Offensive assistant (2019-2020)
- MIAMI DOLPHINS: Quarterbacks coach (2016-18)
Hardegree has done some bouncing around. I suppose his most impressive came while he was coaching with the Raiders, particularly in 2023 when he was calling plays (albeit on an interim basis) as the Las Vegas offensive coordinator in 2023. You’re probably doing something right if you can get a winning record out of a Raiders rookie quarterback.
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If Bo Hardegree *DOES* end up landing in Chicago, it will be a homecoming of sorts for the assistant coach. Hardegree was an offensive assistant for the Bears on John Fox’s staff in 2015 and was one of the handful of coaches who followed Fox from Denver. And if that happens, Hardegree would join Special Teams Coach Richard Hightower as former John Fox assistant coaches from his Chicago stint who would be working with Ben Johnson during his maiden voyage as head coach. What a tangled web we weave.
More to come, I’m sure…