Where the Bears now seemingly make every major decision at Halas Hall with Mitch Trubisky in mind – the new head coach and offensive coordinator, a contract extension for the general manager and a No. 8 draft pick to pair with their young quarterback – the Cubs take a hands-off approach to their franchise players.

Kris Bryant is a low-maintenance superstar, someone who learned about “The Science of Hitting” from his father, Mike, an old Boston Red Sox prospect with vivid memories of Ted Williams. Avoiding all the temptations while growing up in Las Vegas and hitting in The Bryant Man Cage became part of the origin story for the future Rookie of the Year/MVP.

Anthony Rizzo is 28 years old and has already played for three different organizations, four big-league managers and enough hitting coaches that Cubs president Theo Epstein has likened the job to “Spinal Tap” drummer. Driven by an intense competitive streak and a charitable spirit, Rizzo matured into a World Series champion and winner of the prestigious Roberto Clemente and Marvin Miller awards.

But the Cubs do have to account for the Cheeseheads in Wisconsin, with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday showing just how serious they are about taking down the defending division champs in 2018, acquiring Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins in a five-player deal and signing Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million contract.

The top of Milwaukee’s lineup and the Miller Park outfield will look dramatically different for a team that won 86 games and spent 69 days in first place last season. The Cubs know they have to get better and can’t afford to go on cruise control for another half-season again.

Whatever you think of the sweeping changes to a coaching staff that went to the National League Championship Series three years in a row – and how manager Joe Maddon handled the transition – know that even two faces of the franchise have mixed feelings about it.

“Sometimes change is good,” Bryant said. “But the guys that we lost, I mean, I can’t say enough about them. I would not be where I am today without having some help.”

Bryzzo didn’t have their fingerprints on the Cubs firing hitting coach John Mallee, third base coach Gary Jones and pitching coach Chris Bosio. Their success helped position bench coach Dave Martinez to take over the Washington Nationals as a first-time manager and allowed assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske to get the lead job with the Los Angeles Angels.

Yu Darvish would bring a new level of media spectacle to Mesa. But whatever free agents the Cubs sign during the frantic run-up to spring training, it’s already guaranteed to feel different around the Arizona complex, further and further removed from the storybook ending to 2016.

“Obviously, I’m going to miss Mallee and Hinske tremendously,” Rizzo said. “They were like family to me, how much they developed me and (helped) my career. I can’t say enough good things.

“I’m so happy for Hinske to get that job in Anaheim. And he gets (Shohei) Ohtani and (Mike) Trout and (Albert) Pujols, so I don’t really know how much work he’s going to be doing over there.”

Hinske helped Rizzo become an elite hitter, suggesting he crowd the plate as a way to beat left-handed pitchers and defensive shifts. Mallee – who delivered the exact data-driven approach the front office wanted – oversaw an offense that scored 1,630 runs across the last two seasons. The Philadelphia Phillies hired Mallee – the hitting coach while the Houston Astros prepared for liftoff in 2013 and 2014 – hoping for similar results.

“It’s a young team, so I’m really happy for (Mallee) as well,” Rizzo said. “But I’m really excited for Chili Davis.”

“Renteria’d” isn’t a formal term in the Cubs Way manual. But what happened to Rick Renteria when Maddon became a free agent after the 2014 season is pretty much what happened to Mallee and Jones when Davis and Brian Butterfield became available in the wake of the Red Sox firing manager John Farrell.

Davis has already begun working extensively with Jason Heyward in Arizona and won’t be talking much about launch angles. Davis brings instant credibility and a sense of swagger as a switch-hitter who played 19 years in the big leagues and won three World Series rings.

Assistant hitting coach Andy Haines is tight with Mallee and well-versed in analytics and the young hitters’ personalities after getting promoted from minor-league hitting coordinator. Butterfield is viewed as an outstanding infield instructor and an energetic presence in the clubhouse.

Bosio will be a tough act to follow, but new pitching coach Jim Hickey will have a different voice, a fresh set of eyes and a much better rapport with Maddon after their time together with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cubs think so highly of catching/strategy coach Mike Borzello and run prevention coordinator Tommy Hottovy that being able to work with them is essentially a prerequisite for the pitching coach job.

For all the talent on paper – and nearly $90 million spent on free agents so far this offseason – the Cubs still don’t have a replacement for Jake Arrieta at the top of their rotation or an established closer at the level of an Aroldis Chapman or a Wade Davis.

“I’m super excited,” Bryant said. “It feels a little weird, just because there are so many changes on the coaching staff. But it’s nice to know that the group of players that we have is still kind of the same.

“Jake’s been up in the air. We’d love to have him back as a competitor. But the core group that we’ve had here the last two years is (still intact). It’s just really nice to continue to grow with them.”

There is still a cutthroat element to The Cubs Way, which means the same impulses that led to the coaching-staff shakeup at Wrigley Field will drive Epstein to improve the roster as late January turns into early February. The Brewers are coming.

“We could not have done what we had done without them,” Maddon said. “I really wish them all well. It’s just a tough moment. It’s just a matter of other people became available. The new dynamic is these are kind of dynamic guys.”

(Top photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)