LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- In less than two years, the Chicago Bears have gone from having the NFL's oldest roster to having one of the youngest.

Only two players on the Bears' offseason 90-man roster have 10-plus years of professional experience -- Robbie Gould (12) and Jay Cutler (11) -- and just six guys are in their 30s -- Jerrell Freeman (30), Manny Ramirez (33), Zach Miller (31), Willie Young (30), Gould (34) and Cutler (33).

For Bears management to orchestrate such dramatic roster turnover, the club had to sever ties with a large group of veterans, including Chicago's second all-time leading rusher, Matt Forte, and locker room leader Matt Slauson.

"Well there's two Matts that were let go this past season," Bears right guard Kyle Long said at organized team activites. "Obviously Matt Forte is, when you think about the Bears you think about number 22, Matt Forte. But the Slauson thing was really tough for me because he's a guy that took me under his wing and showed me everything about being a pro. Didn't just talk about it; I got to watch him every day and see him do it the right way and I wish him nothing but the best in San Diego. I'm sure we'll play a lot of golf out there."

Long, though, is convinced the Bears can overcome the key losses.

"Obviously missing Slauson, missing guys like Slauson and Forte, there are large voids to be filled," Long said. "But this team has been built on horizontal leadership and we've done a great job bringing in the right people, defensively, offensively and the special teams unit. I love the coaches, I love the guys on this team, I don't think that will be an issue, so I don't really have to take on that much bigger of a role because of the guys that we have in our room. Everybody is kind of accountable themselves."

"I can hold somebody accountable, they'll hold me accountable. We don't miss reps in the weight room. If something happens on the field, it's covered immediately. You don't hear a lot of screaming and shouting from coaches because they know the guys are going to be on one another."

The list offseason defections also extends to the coaching staff, where Dowell Loggains is charged with replacing former play caller Adam Gase, who is now the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Long, who moved back to right guard after the Bears signed free agent right tackle Bobby Massie, is optimistic the transition between Gase to Loggains will be seamless.

"I don't think there's a lot of turnover in terms of the relationships with the players he has. He does a great job of relating to everybody. Also his confidence, he's got a bit of swagger, it emanates through the building and there's a trickle-down effect there. You can see it in our meetings and you'll start to see it translate in practice. It's still early, so you'll see a lot of translate with his thought process."