Bears have been linked to two impressive candidates for the offensive line coach position and their list of former players should have fans excited

As for the candidates the Bears have been linked to already for the vacant role, it seems Johnson is targeting the best possible options.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune said to keep an eye on former New Orleans Saints position coach, Dan Roushar, and Nate Trice of The Athletic said on the Football 301 podcast that there is interest in Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph as well.

More names will likely be connected to the job in the coming days until a decision is made, but there's a lot to like with these two candidates.

Dan Roushar's Experience

Roushar made the jump from the college ranks to the NFL in 2013 as the Saints' running backs coach under Sean Payton, a tree Johnson has already been plucking the majority of his staff from. In 2015, he switched his focus to the tight ends before leading the team's offensive line from 2016-2020. During his final two years in New Orleans, Roushar added the role of run game coordinator, a role he could also have with Johnson's offense in Chicago.

While working with the Saints' unit, Ryan Ramczyk was named to one First-Team All-Pro list and Terron Armstead was named to three consecutive Pro Bowls. In that span, Larry Warford, Andrus Peat, and Max Unger all received various Pro Bowl nods as well.

Roushar is currently the offensive line coach at Tulane University.

Joe Rudolph's Experience

Unlike Roushar, Rudolph has not had any NFL coaching experience but has become a highly successful assistant at the college level working with the offensive line. Rudolph was the former offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh from 2012-2014 before joining Wisconsin as an offensive coordinator, run game coordinator, and offensive line coach from 2015-2021.

In 2022, Rudolph spent one season at Virginia Tech as the program's run game coordinator and offensive line coach before jumping to Notre Dame in 2023.

In terms of his notable former players, Rudolph coached 2024 first-round pick Joe Alt, 2022 third-round pick Logan Bruss, 2020 fourth-round pick Tyler Biadasz, 2018 second-round pick Brian O'Neill, and also coached Ramczyk as well, along with other notable names that went on to play in the NFL.

Clearly, there's a lot to like about each candidate in terms of what they could bring to the position. And based on these two names alone, Johnson is serious about getting this unit turned around as soon as possible.