Bears Elevate Pass Game Coordinator Press Taylor to Offensive Coordinator

The Chicago Bears have their newest offensive coordinator under head coach Ben Johnson, and he's a familiar face for the organization.

The team has reportedly elevated Press Taylor, the team's passing game coordinator, to the post after Declan Doyle's departure to serve in the same role with the Baltimore Ravens, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

After a relatively short interview process, the Bears went the safe and familiar route with Taylor, who joined the Bears last year under Johnson. The 38-year-old coach held several high-profile positions with Doug Pederson, serving as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for Pederson in Philadelphia before the hire of Nick Sirianni and then following the veteran coach to Jacksonville, where he served as Pederson's offensive coordinator from 2022-2024. Unfortunately for Taylor, Trevor Lawrence failed to become an elite player during his tenure, leading to his eventual ouster.

The choice to make him the Bears' offensive coordinator is, therefore, a curious one, and not necessarily the most exciting for most Bears fans. But when you think about what Taylor's role with the Bears would be, it's perhaps not as big a problem as people might think.

As with Doyle last year, Taylor's role as offensive coordinator is different than many teams, as Ben Johnson will continue to call the plays and handle the majority of the heavy lifting when it comes to running the show. As with other organizations with a similar setup, Johnson will delegate some tasks, such as game-planning, running meetings, or teaching, something Taylor experienced last year with Doyle having that responsibility. Basically, Taylor won't be the reason this offense succeeds or fails.

However, if the Bears' offense has another strong year, Taylor might leave for an offensive coordinator spot that offers more responsibility, just as Doyle did.

The main point here is that Johnson wants someone in this position who understands how he runs things and how he wants certain things taught. While it would have been interesting to see him groom another young play-caller the way he did with Doyle, putting Taylor in this spot is much more understandable than not when you consider what he'll actually be doing.