Well-coached and successful teams, which the Chicago Bears now appear to be, always run the risk of their assistant coaches being hired away. The Ben Johnson era was just a season old, and the Bears lost offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to the Baltimore Ravens and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy to the Kansas City Chiefs.
If Johnson’s offense is among the league’s best again in 2026, the other 31 teams will certainly be sniffing around his coaching staff. In a recent article by The Athletic’s
Jourdan Rodrigue, she identified Bears tight ends coach Jim Dray as an assistant coach who could break out in 2026.
“Other than the quarterback, Bears coach Ben Johnson has made it clear that tight end is the most important element of his layered, explosive offensive system,” Rodrique wrote. “That especially highlights Dray, whom Johnson retained from the Matt Eberflus-era staff. Dray will be coaching one of the most talented position rooms in the NFL, featuring Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland, and rookie third-rounder Sam Roush.”
Johnson was a tight ends coach for two years in Detroit before the Lions promoted him to offensive coordinator.
The aforementioned Declan Doyle was the tight ends coach in Denver for two years under Sean Payton before Johnson hired him away last year.
After an eight-year playing career, Dray has been coaching in the NFL since 2018 and has been coaching tight ends in Chicago since 2022. He was one of two offensive assistants retained when offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired in 2024, and the only offensive assistant retained when Ben Johnson took over in 2025.
Besides Dray, do you think any other Chicago assistants could be poached in 2027?
