When Ben Johnson arrived as Chicago Bears' head coach, he knew what the foundation of an improved offense had to be. Replicating a formula he was part of in Detroit was a top priority, and the Bears brought in not one, not two, but three veterans to reconstruct the interior of the offensive line.
The first step in the process of identifying who would be the best fit for that refurbishing was Johnson hiring veteran coach Dan Roushar to coach the offensive line. The improvement of the unit last season had those three new guys front-and-center. But Roushar's coaching allowed right tackle Darnell Wright to finally show his full potential, and made Ozzy Trapilo and Theo Benedet into options at left tackle when Braxton Jones struggled, then got hurt.
During a recent appearance on Foster Swift SPORTS TALK, Roushar talked about the appeal of going to work for Johnson.
"I felt Ben was unique in the sense that he’s driven as a play-caller, he’s an offensive-minded guy, but he’s one of the few guys that I felt like really understood offensive line play,” Roushar said. “That excited me when we started talking about the potential of putting this thing together.”
Reveal from Dan Roushar confirms how things tend to work out like they're meant to
Roushar revealed how he and assistant offensive line coach Kyle DeVan put together a list of 30 offensive lineman for the Bears to consider bringing aboard last offseason, with an unsurprising reveal of a widely rumored top target.
"We were targeting another player in Kansas City, Trey Smith was a high value signing out there. We knew the market was going to be high for him,” Roushar said. “And Kansas City re-signs him and right away you realize that they may not be able to keep additional players. Well, it just worked out where Joe Thuney somehow, someway, was available in a trade scenario for us.”
The Chiefs franchise tagged Smith and later signed him to a four-year, $94 million deal, making him the highest-paid guard in NFL history. With him off the table, the Bears gave up just a fourth-round pick to acquire Thuney from the Chiefs and gave him a two-year, $35 million contract extension. They also acquired guard Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams and gave him a three-year, $44.5 million contract extension. And they were still able to sign center Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal.
Signing Smith would have meant no trade for Thuney, and trading for Jackson to play right guard would have been unnecessary (though he had primarily been a left guard before). Paying Smith $23.5 million per year, or north of $20 million per year for sure, would have likely left signing Dalman as the next notable move by the Bears to bolster their offensive line last offseason. Which would've then made it who knows? at left guard, rather than the first winner of the NFL's Protector of the Year Award.
Instead, the Bears fortified all three of their interior offensive line spots with the best possible options in Thuney, Jackson, and Dalman. They also ended up with two top-20 graded guards by Pro Football Focus last season, rather than one who finished top-30.
If Smith had hit the open market, the Bears would have had plenty of competition for his services. But the Chiefs' decision to tag him brought a pivot to Thuney, and ultimately a better allocation of resources to fix the offensive line.
Read more: Bears' cap situation means some inevitable moves are going to happen soon
The moral of Roushar's story is essentially this. Sometimes, in football matters (and otherwise), things just work out the way they're supposed to.