In the fifth of nine position previews in advance of training camp, coach Harry Hiestand discusses the Bears offensive line.

With Jay Cutler’s arrival, it seems like no one is talking about the Bears offensive line and how you added free agents Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer. How do you feel about that?

Left tackle Orlando Pace signed with the Bears after being voted to seven Pro Bowls in 12 seasons with the St. Louis Rams.

The less they talk about us, the better. If they’re not talking about us, that’s a good thing. We were able to get three new guys that have come in here and worked tremendously hard to do the job that they need to do and work in our system, learn a new system, and learn new techniques and fundamentals. We’re real pleased with their progress.

It’s not every day that a team can add a young, Pro Bowl quarterback. It’s also not every day that you can add a future Hall of Fame left tackle like Pace. How much of a boost has he provided?

Orlando’s a class guy. He’s an o-lineman and he loves it. This is what he does. This is his passion. He obviously has done it at a very high level, so we’re very fortunate to have him here.

Pace may no longer be in his prime, but would you say he’s still an elite NFL player?

What Orlando’s done and what he can do is exciting. He’s achieved a lot in this league and we’re looking forward to seeing him play in the fall. You don’t see the best of any lineman in shorts and t-shirts running around the field [in OTA practices], but we’re expecting to see him play at a high level.

How will the presence of two perennial Hall of Famers in Pace and Olin Kreutz help the Bears’ young offensive linemen?

Well, it helps everybody. It helps the team and it helps me as a coach a lot, having those two guys in there. They bring not only talent to the field, but they bring the way to prepare. They bring the true work ethic and attitude that it takes to be an offensive lineman in the NFL and how hard that really is to be a guy you can count on day-in and day-out. 

How pleased are you with the development of Chris Williams and how is he fitting in at right tackle?

There’s never any doubt on Chris with his work ethic. Chris had to come off what he came off last year and all he’s done is work as hard as he possibly can every day. And he’s made tremendous progress moving over to the right side, where he hasn’t been in a while. Every day he gets out there he gets a little bit better, which is good.

What’s the key to the offensive line gelling and how long do you think that will take?

You can’t predict the length of time, but it’s a process. It happens through playing next to each other. When we get into training camp with our pads and play “real football,” that’s when it’ll really start to take hold. We’ve made progress on that. We’re not where we need to be yet, but we’re going that way.

What have been your impressions of Frank Omiyale?

I sound like a broken record, but he’s another worker. We brought in a guy that has a passion for the game. He works his tail off and wants to get better every day he goes out there. We’ll see as we go. But my impressions are that he’s a talented guy who has a great work ethic and wants to be good.

Roberto Garza seems fairly entrenched at right guard. Will Dan Buenning challenge him for the starting job?

Roberto has had a real good offseason; he’s made a lot of progress. But Dan Buenning’s done a good job, too, and he’s had a good offseason. Dan provides some good competition there. We’ve played Dan at guard and center, so he’s showing his versatility and ability to help strengthen our line.

With the addition of Pace, Omiyale and Shaffer, will this be the most competitive situation on the line in training camp since you joined the Bears in 2005?

I’d say yes because there are a bunch of new guys, so that creates a little bit more [competition]. You don’t really know until you get into training camp exactly what kind of players they are because until we put pads on, it’s hard to measure an offensive lineman.