Bears hiring Oregon State offensive line coach Kyle DeVan

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Sat Feb 15 07:53:48 GMT-05:00 2025

In case you're wondering why Ben Johnson's staff hasn't been announced, it could be because it hasn't been finalized yet. Whether that means there are open positions or he is in the process of creating new openings remains to be seen, but once his staff is complete, an announcement will be made.

Friday was a prime example of Johnson continuing to add to his staff as former Oregon State offensive line coach Kyle DeVan is leaving the college ranks and will be hopping on board to join Johnson's staff. While his official job title hasn't been announced, it's worth noting that DeVan has previous experience with Johnson, so the connection factor played a role in this hiring.

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports was the first to report this story and had this to say about DeVan taking his talents to the Windy City. DeVan was a first-team all-conference selection as an offensive lineman at Oregon State and then made 26 career starts in the NFL, including 21 with the Colts in 2009 and ‘10.

OL coach Kyle Devan has accepted a job with the Chicago Bears #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/zu7Zl2DAzn
— Oregon State Sports (@_OSUsports_) February 14, 2025

Aside from Oregon State and the Saints, he’s also worked for teams like Colorado, Michigan, Arizona, and Charlotte.

When you look at his NFL career and the experience he brings to the table, DeVan played in 40 career games, with 26 coming as starts from 2009-2012. DeVan’s playing career included stints with the Indianapolis Colts (2009-10), Philadelphia Eagles (2011), and Tennessee Titans (2012).

Once his career was over, DeVan wanted to remain in football and some aspects and took a few seasons off before getting into the coaching ranks. That all started in 2015 with the New Orleans Saints, where he was the assistant offensive line coach. It's worth noting that his boss was Dan Roushar during that season, who the Bears brought in to coach the offensive line this season. Again, connections make a difference in the NFL, so DeVan has multiple connections with the Bears staff.

Following his one season with the Saints, DeVan moved over to the collegiate world where he has been ever since. That all started with Ball State in 2016, where he spent the next three seasons as the team's offensive line coach. He then moved out west to Arizona to coach up their offensive line for two seasons before coming to Michigan in 2021 to be used as an offensive analyst.

After one season in Ann Arbor, DeVan was on the move again, spending the 2022 season with Colorado, the 2023 season with Charlotte, and last season with Oregon State as he was the offensive line coach at each of those three stops. Anytime you have a coach that moves around that much, there is a cause for concern, but from all accounts, DeVan has been successful everywhere he has gone, which is all you can ask for.

Not only did the connection factor play a role in this hire, but when you look at his professional career, DeVan has all of his experience at the guard and tackle positions. Ironically, those are the two biggest areas of need for the Bears offensive line, so it makes you wonder if he will spend some extra time working with those guys.

With Roushar set to lead the offensive line this season, you can assume that DeVan will come in and take over the assistant offensive line coach duties, which is a role he held with the Saints in 2015. It was in that season when Roushar and DeVan were coaching together in New Orleans, so a lot of the principles that were taught back then could carry over into the Bears new staff.

While this isn't going to go down as a massive hire like the other coaches Johnson brought in, it's still an important hire nonetheless. The goal for Johnson when he took this position was to bring in one of the more experienced and diverse staffs in the game. He has done that from day one and continues to show that with this hire.