The Chicago Bears finished this past season dead last in the NFC North and decided to clean house shortly after their year ended. 

Now with John Fox manning the sideline and a new defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio, it's going to be interesting to see how this team improves what has in the past couple years been a horrible defense. 

Here's an early look at Bears' team needs heading into the offseason. 

1. Free Safety

Chris Conte—one of the worst starting defensive backs in the NFL—is set to become a free agent following the season. Even if he were to return, there's no reason to believe that new head coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would even think about keeping him in the starting lineup. After that, Brock Vereen is the best in-house candidate to take over this job. However, that's not an ideal scenario for the Bears. In fact, Vereen seems better suited to play strong safety. 

If the Bears were to look in this direction, an underrated option could be Fresno State's Derron Smith, who should skyrocket draft boards the closer we get to April. He has the range to make a major difference in coverage in Chicago's defensive back end. 

2. Defensive End

With the likely switch to a 3-4 defense under Fangio, it's going to be interesting to see how the Bears decide to find talent to fit that new scheme. More so than any other position outside of pass-rushing EDGE players, the five-tech is the first position that needs to be addressed. Considering Chicago PAID Lamarr Houston, it will likely have to find a way to work him into this scheme. Outside of that, there's not much more to look at here. Jared Allen is strictly a 4-3 end, so it stands to reason that he will be a cap casualty. 

A perfect fit for Chicago's new scheme would be USC's Leonard Williams, but it's highly unlikely that he will be available at seven. Also a great fit is 6'7", 296-pound Arik Armstead from Oregon. Not only is Armstead a solid run-stuffing end, he has the ability to get around the edge and fill gaps for outside linebackers in this scheme. Though, selecting him at seven would be a reach. Look at Stanford's Henry Anderson as a potential mid-round pick as well. 

3. Guard 

Kyle Long is entrenched in as the team's starting right guard, but the Bears are going to have to find a long-term replacement at left guard. Matt Slauson is nowhere near a legitimate starter, while Michael Ola struggled big time in the first extended action of his NFL career. 

Considering that Chicago isn't going to spend a top-10 pick on an interior lineman, the most likely scenario here is that it spends a second round or a mid-round pick on a replacement. In this, Duke's Laken Tomlinson could be a great fit. He's an intelligent player and should be a Day 1 starter. Chicago doesn't need an All-Pro caliber guard here, it needs someone that's going to perform at an above-average level. Tomlinson could be that guy in the second or third round.  

4. Outside Linebacker

Shea McClellin is an option at one outside linebacker position (I know Bears fans). Though, Chicago simply cannot rely on him to be an impact performer from that position. Jared Allen is not going to be successful switching to a stand-up role in this scheme. And after that, there's not much here. 

Needless to say, the Bears need an ELITE pass-rushing option. That's where Clemson's Vic Beasley and Missouri's Shane come into play. Both would be solid picks with the seventh selection. And both would be immediate impact performers here.