2013 Chicago Bears season

The  Chicago Bears season will be the franchise's upcoming 94th season in the National Football League. The season will be the first year under new head coach Marc Trestman, as Lovie Smith was fired on December 31, 2012 when the Bears missed the playoffs after a 7–1 start. The team will play at Soldier Field for the 11th season since its reconstruction in 2001.

Organizational changes
On December 31, 2012, nine-year head coach Lovie Smith was fired. After Smith's firing, the Bears requested interviews with Montreal Alouettes' head coach Marc Trestman, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Singletary and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, Houston Texans' offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Atlanta Falcons' special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong, Dallas Cowboys' special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator Tom Clements, Denver Broncos' offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, and Indianapolis Colts' offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, along with in-house candidate and special teams coordinator Dave Toub. The hunt later narrowed down to Trestman, Bevell and Arians. Ultimately, Trestman was hired on January 15.

After Trestman's hiring, he hired New Orleans Saints' offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as offensive coordinator, and the Cowboys reported that DeCamillis will join the Bears as the team's assistant head coach/special teams coordinator. Trestman also hired Andy Bischoff and Michael Sinclair as tight ends and defensive line coaches, respectively; both coaches had worked with Trestman in Montreal. Alouettes offensive coordinator Pat Meyer also joined the Bears as offensive line coach, along with defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar as linebackers coach. Former Alouettes coaches Brendan Nugent and Carson Walch were hired as offensive quality control assistants.

On January 15, Toub announced that he is leaving the Bears for the Kansas City Chiefs. Two days later, it was announced that defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will not return. Eight assistants were also dismissed: quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, running backs coach Tim Spencer, wide receivers coach Darryl Drake, tight ends coach Mike DeBord, offensive line coach Tim Holt, linebackers coach Bob Babich, defensive backs coach Gill Byrd, and offensive coordinator Mike Tice. To replace Bates and Spencer, Chicago hired Matt Cavanaugh and Skip Peete as quarterbacks and running backs coach, respectively. To take Marinelli's place, the Bears hired Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. On February 21, Trestman's staff was completed after the Bears hired Alabama coach Mike Groh as wide receivers coach.

On January 19, Bears director of physical development Rusty Jones announced that he is retiring after 28 years in the NFL. He was eventually replaced by Mike Clark. On January 28, Chicago hired former Bears safety Chris Harris as defensive quality control, with Sean Desai serving the same position, along with Dwayne Stukes as assistant special teams coordinator.

Additions

 * On January 2, the Bears signed Cheta Ozougwu.
 * On January 4, the Bears signed Brittan Golden.
 * On January 7, the Bears signed Matt Blanchard and Terrence Toliver.
 * On January 8, the Bears signed Patrick Trahan.
 * On January 9, the Bears signed Brody Eldridge.
 * On January 10, the Bears signed Fendi Onobun and Lawrence Wilson.
 * On January 28, the Bears signed Cyhl Quarles.
 * On January 29, the Bears signed Tom Nelson.
 * On February 11, the Bears signed LeQuan Lewis.

Departures

 * On February 12, the Bears released Johnny Knox.

2013 draft class

 * Notes
 * The team traded its third-round selection along with a 2012 third-round selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
 * The team traded its seventh-round selection to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for defensive tackle Brian Price.
 * Exact numbers of the selections from rounds 4–7 will be determined when compensatory selections are awarded at the NFL's annual owners' meetings in late-March.

Schedule
The Bears' preseason opponents and schedule will be announced in the spring.

2013 opponents
Listed below are the Bears' opponents for 2013. Exact dates and times will be announced in April. NFL.com ranked the Bears' schedule as the sixteenth-strongest in the lead, with all opponents having a combined 2012 record of 128–127–1, and a winning percentage total of .502.