The Chicago Bears have a long history of strong linebacker play.
And in 2025, it will be up to Richard Smith to get this position group on the right track. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter/X) cites sources and reports the Bears are hiring Smith as the team’s new linebackers coach. Smith replaces Dave Borgonzi, who coached Bears LBs from 2022-24 before following Matt Eberflus and joining the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coaching staff.
Who is Richard Smith and why are the Bears hiring him?
Richard Smith has been coaching in the NFL for so long, his first gig in the league came with the Houston Oilers. That’s right โ Houston Oilers. Smith coached special teams, offensive linemen, and tight ends in Houston from 1988-92. After that, he had stops with the Denver Broncos (1993-94 and 2011-14), San Francisco 49ers (1997-02), Detroit Lions (2003-04), Miami Dolphins (2005), Houston Texans (2006-08), Carolina Panthers (2009-10), Atlanta Falcons (2015-16), Los Angeles Chargers (2017-20), Las Vegas Raiders (2021), and Indianapolis Colts (2022-24). He has also worked for coaches including Dan Quinn, Nick Saban, Mike Shanahan, John Fox, Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden, and Jack Pardee. To say that Smith is well-traveled would be short-changing the 69-year-old assistant coach.
As you might expect, there is some crossover between Richard Smith and Dennis Allen. Smith worked as the linebackers coach for the new Bears defensive coordinator in 2011 when Allen was running the Broncos defense. Hopefully, the familiarity pays off in a big way for Chicago’s football team.
When the Bears make it officially official and Richard Smith makes his way to Halas Hall, he will be greeted by a talented collection of linebackers. T.J. Edwards collected a team-leading 12 tackles for loss, finished second on the team in solo tackles (79) and total tackles (129), and collected 4.0 sacks โ which ranked as the third-most on the team. Also, Edwards’ six quarterback hits were the most among Chicago’s defenders who weren’t defensive linemen. Simply put: T.J. Edwards is a ballplayer and I am looking forward to seeing how he is deployed in 2025.
But with that being said, the player who I think stands the most from a change in position coaches is Tremaine Edmunds. The two-time Pro Bowl linebacker has not lived up to the sizable contract he signed with the Bears two offseasons ago. Edmunds has been fine, but “fine” shouldn’t be seen as “good enough” when you are playing the middle linebacker position in Chicago. In an ideal world, a shakeup at linebackers coach will put Edmunds back on track to being a strong player in the middle of the Bears’ defense.
MORE: Tremaine Edmunds Was the 2023 Chicago Bears Ballhawk Champ
If that doesn’t happen, this might be the last season we see Tremaine Edmunds in a Bears uniform. Chicago can part ways with Edmunds after next offseason and create $15 million in cap space in the process โย all while taking on a dead cap hit of $2.4375 million. In theory, the team *COULD* cut ties with Edmunds this offseason. Pulling the plug there would create $4.3625 million in cap space for this offseason. However, it would come at the cost of a $13.075 million dead cap hit.
For what it’s worth, a post-June 1 cut could create $6.8 million worth of cap space and come with a $10.6375 million dead cap hit. It would lighten the load, to be sure. But the juice might not be worth the squeeze. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing if a new defensive coordinator and position coach brings new life to Bears linebackers in 2025.
