No second interviews are coming for Ben Johnson, after all. The coveted coordinator has made his choice, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Bears are expected to reach an agreement with the three-year Lions play-caller. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
Although Johnson had stepped away as the Panthers’ preferred candidate in 2023 and then informed the Commanders late in last year’s process he was out, the Bears will land the coach who had been viewed by many as this year’s biggest fish. This represents one of the more significant developments in modern Bears history, as they had been connected to the rival coordinator for months.
As of Sunday, the Jaguars and Raiders were still in pursuit. Johnson had spoken to Tom Brady for hours during a Zoom meeting, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, but the Las Vegas setup had a notable hole the Chicago gig does not. The Bears used the Bryce Young trade to acquire the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, giving them Caleb Williams access. They have now secured a coach to develop the well-regarded prospect. The Raiders have yet to identify a quarterback, with Brady tasked with helping the organization land one. Las Vegas also dropped to the No. 6 pick thanks to two late-season wins, which may well have been a factor in this now-Brady-led HC search.
The Jaguars’ setup is not in line with what Johnson preferred, Russini adds, helping to eliminate them. Jacksonville made the unexpected move to keep Trent Baalke as GM after firing Doug Pederson. Baalke’s polarizing presence was believed to have turned off some coaching candidates, and it appears Johnson was one of them. The Jags were believed to be open to moving Baalke to a different position in the organization depending on their HC hire, as they prepared an aggressive Johnson push, but that may not have been enough to satisfy a coordinator with options.
The Bears may be zeroing in on a defensive coordinator as well. As Russini reported, both Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo had engaged in discussions about potentially joining Johnson wherever he landed. Johnson is expected to choose Allen, and Anarumo just committed to be the Colts’ DC. Allen has indeed emerged as a prime candidate to follow Johnson to Chicago, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Allen was in charge of the Saints’ defense from 2016-24, before being fired during his third season as head coach. Though, the ex-Sean Payton assistant — Aaron Glenn‘s boss in New Orleans — played the lead role in turning the Saints’ defense around during Drew Brees‘ final seasons.
Baalke’s Jacksonville presence may not be too dissimilar to how Chicago’s power structure looks now. Candidates were curious about what role third-year president Kevin Warren would play. While Warren had said GM Ryan Poles was running what turned out to be an expansive search — featuring nearly 20 confirmed candidates — the team president was believed to be closely involved in football operations. Advertised as an exec who would primarily stay on the business side, Warren has been instead heavily involved in football matters.
This setup still did enough for Johnson, who will work with Poles in attempting to restore the Bears as a power in a strong division. It should also be noted (h/t Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager) Poles and Johnson were each Boston College graduate assistants in the late 2000s. Poles served on the football staff in 2008 after his playing career ended, while Johnson was at BC from 2009-10.
Dan Campbell said earlier today he did not expect either Johnson or Glenn to return. Glenn remains a candidate with several HC-needy teams, but Johnson has loomed as Detroit’s more coveted option. His decision to back out of the Commanders’ job came as reps from the NFC East club were en route to Detroit for interviews with he and Glenn. Rather than hire Glenn, Washington chose Dan Quinn.
The latter’s team just eliminated Johnson’s from the playoffs, freeing the Bears up to make their preferred hire now rather than wait at least another week. Had the Lions held seed and advanced to Super Bowl LIX, the Bears would have needed to wait until after the mid-February event to make their hire.
The Lions’ shortcoming will benefit the Bears, who have not been able to firmly establish themselves as a contender since at least the mid-2000s. And that defense-powered operation only stayed afloat on that level for two seasons. The Bears have not made three straight playoff berths since Mike Ditka‘s tenure more than 30 years ago. The offensive minds the Bears have hired in the recent past (Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy) have not been able to move the needle, Nagy’s two playoff berths notwithstanding. Johnson, however, checks in as a candidate on a higher plane by comparison to those two HCs or really any coach the Bears have hired in recent history.
Although the Lions did not book three straight playoff berths during Johnson’s tenure, they may well be on their way to that. Detroit’s hotshot OC, promoted from a post as tight ends coach after being hired by Matt Patricia, played a central role in the long-downtrodden organization’s climb. The innovative play-caller drove Detroit to two fifth-place offensive rankings and this season’s top mark in terms of scoring. The Lions ranked in the top four in yardage in each of Johnson’s three seasons calling plays.
Johnson, 38, restored Jared Goff as an upper-crust quarterback, doing so after the Lions had acquired the five-year Rams starter as the throw-in piece in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade. Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC championship game and a 15-2 record this season. Johnson was seen as the architect of that resurgence.
Whereas Trestman was given Jay Cutler and Nagy mostly Mitchell Trubisky, Johnson will be tasked with developing Williams. It looks like he chose a Williams partnership over seeing what Brady could come up with in Vegas or working with Trevor Lawrence — and a $55MM-per-year contract — in Jacksonville. Williams ranked 28th in QBR this season, one in which the Bears had Thomas Brown move to three positions — pass-game coordinator, OC and interim HC — during a disjointed campaign marred by a 10-game losing streak. Williams showed a Justin Fields-like penchant for taking sacks, leading the NFL with 68. But the former Heisman winner also showed flashes that attracted candidates; he is signed through at least 2026 on a rookie contract.
This Johnson hire will be the Bears’ aim to maximize their Williams investment, and the team having D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze signed long term undoubtedly helped woo the picky HC candidate. The Raiders and Jags will need to pivot to other options, while the Bears stand to immediately become more interesting in a division in which they finished five games behind the third-place Packers. Johnson will get to work at attempting to reel in his former employer and a Vikings team that just went 14-3.
Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is how the long-running Chicago HC search wrapped up:
- Bill Belichick, head coach (North Carolina): Candidate expressed interest
- Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Bills): Interviewed 1/17
- Thomas Brown, interim head coach (Bears): Interviewed 1/13
- Matt Campbell, head coach (Iowa State): Interview expected
- Pete Carroll, former head coach (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/9
- Brian Flores, defensive coordinator (Vikings): Interviewed 1/18
- Marcus Freeman, head coach (Notre Dame): Team wants to interview
- Eddie George, head coach (Tennessee State): Interviewed 1/19
- Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator (Lions): Interviewed 1/11
- Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator (Lions): Hired
- Mike Kafka, offensive coordinator (Giants): Interviewed 1/9
- Kliff Kingsbury, offensive coordinator (Commanders): Interview requested, won’t interview until after season
- Mike McCarthy, head coach (Cowboys): Interviewed 1/15
- Todd Monken, offensive coordinator (Ravens): Interviewed 1/17
- Drew Petzing, offensive coordinator (Cardinals): Interviewed 1/8
- Ron Rivera, former head coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/12
- David Shaw, senior personnel executive (Broncos): Interviewed 1/14
- Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator (Steelers): Interviewed 1/15
- Adam Stenavich, offensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/18
- Mike Tomlin, head coach (Steelers): Denied meeting
- Mike Vrabel, former head coach (Titans): Interviewed 1/8; hired by Patriots
- Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/9
The Bears executives will mess it up
This might end up being even McCaskey proof.
Finally a Chicago Team gets the the guy they really need and the guy who has the most credentials that they need. From Hoyer’s failures to the Bulls follies to whatever it is the Hawks are doing a team got the hot property. It doesn’t even matter if he ends up being less than expected, But I don’t think so in this case. The right guy, At the right time for the right job. Poles sure took the long way around but in the end did the best thing for the team. Well done for a change. I’m in.
Rondon- Nothing is McCaskey proof. But with Warren, Poles, Cunningham and now Johnson I haven’t felt this confident about the Bears upper echelon since the Jim Finks days. McCaskey should just be able to sit in his office and help Warren get the Stadium built.
That’s what you said about drafting Caleb Williams lol
I didn’t think the O line was as bad as it was. I was wrong.
The Bears Oline has been bad for more than 10 years and its like groundhog day every off season in terms of Bears needs. With Johnson as HC, maybe just maybe those needs finally get addressed. Part of me still thinks the Bears should have gone with McCarthy, but it sounds like everyone, not just the Bears, were ‘sold’ on Johnson so lets hope Poles got it right.
Lets also hope Poles actually fixes the damn O line in the draft and also drafts an actual 3Tech DT in the draft. I am curious as to who will be DC on this team. Fix the Oline and the get a DT 3 tech and I think the other things fall into place for both sides of the ball.
The bears are not regretting drafting Williams. And any bears fans with working eyes shouldn’t be regretting it either. Do you really think Jayden Daniels would have dragged this roster and coaching staff to the playoffs? Not a chance. Caleb is a special talent and now they’ve given him a coach that has a chance to not mess him up.
GOD IS REAL AND HE IS GOOD
Rumor is He hates the Bears, though.
Hating the bears is a prerequisite for being a bears fan. He will be fine.
Well, Reverend Cleophaus James is alive and well…. plus he was from Chicago allegedly ….. Praise God!!!!
A lot of religious people will be upset to learn God isn’t a fan of the Saints.
Well…you just need to see the Light cross eyed lemon
I don’t have the same faith as Jake…link to youtube.com.
Great hire for the Bears. And it weakens the Lions. Win win.
Great hire for the Bears, but still McCaskey to screw things up. Will not hurt the Lions, as they are still led by Holmes, Spielman and Campbell.
Hope he lets wr throw the ball when the games on the line
Haha! How about one that can actually throw??
Coaches that change the way they coach because of the pressure of the playoffs are cowards. I respect the guy for calling his game. It’s not his fault his QB turned into a pumpkin and the defense had 11 guys on IR.
I think “coward” is a bit harsh.
Maybe Keenan Allen will re-up with the Bears now that Johnson is there. He’ll get to throw lazy passes again!
⬇️
Bear down!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers swoop in and sign him.
Nice pull by the Bears. Glad Caleb Williams gets a coach who knows how to scheme dynamically or, you know, has any idea how blocking works. This should be interesting to watch.
Lots of dominoes to fall now, but the first thing that comes to mind is that this puts Jacksonville in classic position to do something wacky.
Jacksonville will probably hire McCarthy
I don’t think that would be a good hire for them, but I could see it happening.
I don’t think McCarthy wants to deal with Baalke either. I don’t think anybody does really.
Big win for the Mike Martz coaching tree!
Good for the Bears. Hired possibly the best offensive coach available
Be fired by 2027.
Anything is possible. But please have some faith and try to be positive.
No
Part of me thinks the Bears would have been better off with McCarthy, but the decision has been made, now the hope is that Johnson will actually get the org to finally fix the O-line.
Nice for Vikings as weakens Detroit and Chicago is so bad even a new coach won’t make them relevant for two years
Bears will have a better record than the Vikings next season. Likely much better. Vikings over performed all year and exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations and projections. Bears did the opposite. Both teams will revert to more predictable outcomes next season. Vikings will be last in the NFC North.
I’m from the future.
Yeah well it’s a tad premature for talk like that. Let’s get like 4 O Linemen that weigh like 320 lbs first. Guys who don’t get run over in an eighth of a second. Then we’ll talk. I think Wright and Jenkins are a decent right side if they can re sign him. Jenkins was proving to be an awesome RG before they made him move for that slug Davis. Jones would be an OK B/U swing Tackle. Pryor is a decent cost effective B/U. But the rest needs to be completely redone.
I think Jenkins is back, only because there are only so many draft picks and there still are needs around the team.
The Bears need a OT, Guard, center, and 3 Tech DT, and EDGE. Never mind both Edmunds and Edwards were constantly exposed as a weakness and Brisker is hurt a LOT.
Roschon Johnson also could be good but scheming left him sitting and when he did get in he got concussed again and was out for a ton of games.
You don’t even know who your QB will be next year and may turn it over to an unproven rookie. Plus you got a crap tone of free agents and rb who is now on the wrong side of 30. I would focus more on the Vikings as there is plenty there to keep you busy.
Well, as much as they screwed up last season,(most notably bringing back Eberflus), this is the best way to give Williams some solid support. Yes, they have other issues- what team doesn’t?- but I’ll bet Johnson already has lined up a lot of his staff.. and that Poles will listen to him when they start spending that FA money and plotting the draft. At this moment, this was the best choice the Bears could make.. IMO
Ill be impressed if Johnson implores the Bears to finally fix the Oline for the first time in over a decade. Part of me still thinks the Bears would have been better served with McCarthy, and I hope Im wrong. I was about Williams, so I hope that Johnson is the real deal.
Oh, god…here we go again with the “bears are super bowl champs” before the first actual game again.
Just like the past 40 years…
And oh, god… Here come the haters.
Just like the last 40 years…
Not a single person is saying the Bears will be the SB champs. But way to be upset about nothing
I am.
It’s truly every offseason. It gets old.
Is Liam Coen going to Jacksonville then?
I think Glenn and some others have had 2nd interviews. Liam only 1 so I think he is out of the running, Mccarthy may get the job if he wants.
I’ve said this a million times so one more can’t hurt:
Caleb is a one read —> improvise QB … which worked with Lincoln Riley’s system … which is why he followed him from OU to USC … which is why he never evolved as a QB
Can Johnson get him to change?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ … but I’m not a betting man
The key to being an NFL QB is the ability to move defenders with your eyes to make the tight throws. Nobody learns that in one season. NFL DB’s are too fast to try and beat them all the time, You will lose to them a bunch if you try. Of course, The ability to be able to do that is to have the time to throw to accomplish that. If you are constantly running for your life when the ball is snapped is kind of detrimental to the whole plan. Any plan is based on the ability of having the players to do that. Hopefully they start adding the guys to help Caleb out.
And Jayden Daniels isn’t a one read QB? He most certainly is and look where they are.
Probably watching Bills tape prepping for the AFC Championship?
@ Unclemike / Are the Next Generation GMs gonna say “Well his football instincts and arm strength are horrible but we really like his eyes and Madden score… so we decided to draft him #1”?
Well Rodgers used to do it perfectly. Plus early in his career he was the best at sliding around in the pocket to make a throw. Just taking the right step to avoid the rush and looking guys off to get someone open. But everybody forgets Rodgers sat for 3 years or so. It’s something that you can learn with experience but some guys have it. Williams doesn’t seem to have that knack of knowing when someone is around him, The eyes in the back of your head instinct. That you can’t learn, You either have it or you don’t. Doesn’t mean he won”t be great, he can do everything else. Obviously a good coach was necessary and the Bears let him down with Eberlose, Waldron and Brown. Although Brown was tossed to the wolves. At least this shouldn’t be Fields or Trubisky where they had no coaching really. Nagy didn’t seem to help Mitch much. Was that Mitch didn’t have it or Nagy didn’t have it? We may never know. At least it seems now Williams will have the same coach and system for the next 5 years. That can’t hurt. We’ll see.
I think more is not made of the apparent stance of the last regime to not let Williams throw picks, and to protect the ball at all costs. Never throw a pick, Williams all but said that in an interview about not throwing picks. The problem is QBs then get gun shy with that being drilled into their heads, then stop making quick reads, worried they could turn the ball over. Never mind how many times where defenders were on him before he could even drop back to get set to throw.
Williams looked best when they were in no huddle or 2 minute drills where he started to rely on his instinct instead of hear that voice saying ‘you cannot be risky’. He just ran the offense and did it well, as he was one of the reasons why the Bears almost pulled out a few of those close games even though the offense was also insanely predictable.
If had worked you would be calling him a genius. Bad plays happen and probably wasn’t the right call but it’s part of who the Lions are.
Best coach that was available this cycle. Great hire
No experience. Major market team with screwballs in front office.
Be fired by 2027.
Need a o line. Should have hied Carroll.
hey so their oline is exactly the same even if they hired Carroll today hope this puts things into perspective so you can avoid typing such a logical leap out for everyone to see
Are you sure about the market size? Every other team in that city keep telling us they are small market.
Pete Carroll usually didn’t have much of an O-line in Seattle
Carroll is 73, how long were you expecting him to coach for exactly? The Bears had a guy like that, John Fox, and we saw how that turned out.
as for the Oline, hiring a coach does not mean you do not draft and bring in FAs for the line. I mean for the Bears it may because every year they refuse to do that, but that has little to do with the coach, actually this time it may as Im guessing Johnson is going to make it clear the Bears need to fix their Oline if they want any sort of offense.
Great hire. Not a bears fan but hoping for the best
Not that I think Vrabel is bad at all but wish Pats hired him
What happened to Eddie George?
Rooney Rule
Flores, Glenn, Brown, Rivera already fulfilled that.
Nope. Rivera was the only in person interview of the names you listed. He and Eddie George fulfilled the Rooney Rule. Zoom interviews don’t count.
Why has the NFL determined that Zoom interviews don’t count? Last I checked, we’re in 2025…
Yep, Bears had to get the in-person interview with George out of the way before nabbing Johnson. He will prioritize the offensive line but will he keep his former player in Detroit, D’Andre Swift?
Well hopefully only if Swift finally learns to run around guys instead of running into them.
Great hire. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a “can’t miss” head coach because being an amazing coordinator doesn’t automatically make someone good at in-game decisions, managing a locker room, etc., but this is about as good of a hire as a team can hope for when trying to develop their #1 pick QB.
All that glitters isn’t always gold. Time will tell.
Looks like we got a Smash Mouth fan!
Good move.
First order of business is changing the oline scheme to what they did in Detroit.
Detroit had tons of talent but wasn’t until Campbell and Johnson came in that the oline began to play better as a unit.
Second order of business is replicate the Montgomery and Gibbs running back room. Maybe bears take Cam Skattebo in the third or 4th to pair with swift.
They don’t have a 4th. Unless they trade down one of the 2nds a bit to get one. Should have a 4th from Pittsburgh but they shot themselves in the foot to save that pick by sitting Fields. Still laugh every time i think of it. Lost 5 in a row to save 2 rounds of a draft pick. Too funny.
Or… Russ was just better. Fields is not a QB. He’s a RB who throws.
Was he though? He didn’t look too good to me. I’m pretty sure Fields could have stolen at least one or 2 victories with his legs alone. Russ is toast. Stick a fork in him. Let him go chase Ciara around. What he’s good at now. They’re already talking about not bringing him back. Doesn’t sound like they REALLY think he’s better. They’re just stupid.
A RB who throws is a better option than Russ at this point. At least Fields can win with his legs. Russ can’t win with his legs OR his arm.
They may get a fourth back by trades, I’m guessing some guys are getting cleared out. I would not be heartbroken to see Stevenson traded for a pick, maybe get an org who thinks they can make him more mature to give up a 3rd or 4th rounder for him. I have a feeling a few guys are going to be exorcised out of that locker room (at least a few that should be).
As for Pittsburgh, I doubt Fields would have been any better than Wilson in that second half of the season the Steelers went through. That O really did not have much in terms of guys to throw to.
Dennis Allen should be a solid D-Coordinator if that’s Johnson’s choice. He’s got some successful experience as a coordinator. Also a former Head Coach-That was not as successful for Allen. An experienced D-Coordinator should allow Johnson to say to Allen make it work and run with it while he concentrates on the offense and the development of Caleb. Interesting to see who Johnson picks as his O-Coordinator.
Great choice. Now build around Caleb and get some O Line and a RB threat
Oops.
For a no insight thought: Guess we will see how it goes.
The Bears sure jerked around a lot of candidates in this search.
How so?
The assumption by you is that Johnson already had agreed to the job before the end of the season?
Those candidates could have declined the interview invites. If they are true masochists they can always try to get a job with the White Sox or Blackhawks 🙂
The fact that Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC Championship when Detroit plays in the NFC is a feat in itself.
We got him!!!
Horrible decision by Ben Johnson….The owners of the Bears are worse than the Ford family under William Clay. Johnson will not be able to change the culture and he’ll be gone within 2 years
It’s a high risk gamble but the Lions were going to lose him to somebody in the next few years anyway….try not to be bitter.
There’s probably a sub-1% chance he’s fired after two seasons. This was easily the best landing spot for him. He is able to team up with a promising QB who has the potential to become top 10, a solid set of skill players, and a strong D. Good coaches overcome bad ownership all the time. It’s not like the Bears have an extremely long playoff drought either.
I’m sure it sucks to lose him to a division rival, especially two days after being upset in the playoffs, but I don’t see this comment as particularly rational.
I knew Johnson was leaving and have no bitterness over his departure, just believe there are better openings for him other than da Bears who have a weak GM and horrific owners. I’d rather have seen him take the Raiders or Jaguars job even with their own equally horrific ownership as those two seem like better opportunities. I want him to succeed, don’t see it happening in Chicago
See, your need to slide in shots at the Bears (weak GM, horrific owners) while simultaneously stating you have no bitterness and also refusing to acknowledge the owners of the other openings all have their own problems–and are probably actually worse other than the Saints–makes it hard to believe there isn’t some homerism in there.
All of those teams are historically awful landing spots, the Bears at least have relatively recent tradition. When was the last time the Raiders were relevant? The 1970’s?
No QB in sight but the Raiders ownership are at least getting solid advice from minority owner Tom
Brady. Brady likes to win and he’ll do what it takes to make the Raiders win.
My bad, you did acknowledge the second part, although I disagree with “equally horrific.” Davis, Johnson, and Khan are all worse.
Motown is just pissed he left.. for the Bears.
Nope…not pissed or bitter. Just don’t beleive we took the best opportunity. Not sure what you guys DONT understand
The whole weak GM bad owner thing was true in Detroit as well until it wasn’t. Read some of the reporting from Shefter- He has an understanding with mgmt that McCaskey stays out of it. He will have input on FAs and the draft. Truth is, if he doesn’t do anything but get Williams straight, it’ll be a success.
Wait… ‘We’ took the best opportunity? Are you like in his family or something?
Also saying that Jacksonville and the Raiders are both better opportunities than the Bears is laughable. I know Bears ownership is not a gold standard, but cmon, never mind the bad ownership and management in those orgs, but Lawrence is not a world beater, and the Raiders have Crosby and Bowers and that is it or do you think guys like Ridder and OConnell are the next Tom Brady?
If Johnson is everything everyone says he is, he will succeed with the Bears. Maybe you should not be wishing he will fail in 2 seasons if you are such a fan of his.
nrd1138…Give ma break…My “we” was a typo, as I meant to type “he”…like you’ve never made a typo error in your life. Yea right!
I wouldn’t say sub 1% mostly because there’s a very simple path for it to happen. The Bears have another subpar season specifically because Poles stoll cannot fix the OL (or if the defense takes a step back but Poles will live or die on fixing that OL), the Bears organization panics realizing their generational QB is getting killed and finally dump Poles. The next season with a new GM they struggle again, with the fans starting to turn on Ben for not delivering on what they thought he would bring, and the new GM decides he wants his own guy.
I don’t think this will happen but I’d say it’s closer to 10% than less than 1%. Remember for every hyped up coordinator promoted to HC that turns out to be the real deal there’s 5 that are total dogwater.
First thing is if Poles goes he will be replaced by Cunningham in all likelihood. And he’s been here same as Poles and might have a better pedigree. Poles has generally avoided the OL in the draft except for Wright who turned out fine. Poles even passed on Reilly the C from the Giants to pick Stevenson which hasn’t turned out so well. I’d feel a lot better with Reilly and Stromberg here already. Brown was stupid for not giving Stromberg at least an audition in the end. It was the Old I gotta win a meaningless game instead of let’s see what we have here. The Bears have the picks and FA money to go all in on the O line this year. If they don’t it would be another mistake. The D line can be fixed in FA. There are guys there that if used wisely that money can fix those holes. I fully expect Johnson to have some influence there. I don’t know for sure but I bet my last dollar he was given some input on those things to have jumped so quickly over the other openings. How much influence? Time will tell.
Mike… They’d be crazy not to listen to his input. I’m sure it’s a condition of the deal. And I don’t think it’s a reach to say they will address the O-line and D-lines in a big way.
They’re reportedly paying Johnson $16M a year. If he got even a 5 year deal, I don’t think the McCaskeys will cut bait that quickly. Instead, I think they would either hand the personnel power over to Johnson or let him hire his own guy. It would probably take two 4 win or fewer win seasons to get him out that quickly, and, given the talent, I don’t see that happening.
Salty Lions fan spewing nonsense.
Kudos to the guy for taking on a big challenge when he could have stayed put with a winning situation. He’ll probably lose all his hair and develop an ulcer having to deal with the McCaskey’s.
It was either this or the Jaguars. There’s not that many HC opportunities with a solid rookie QB prospect, and I’d stay in Detroit over a number of other teams regardless of the draft.
Nowadays, rookie QBs don’t just have to escape a soggy OL line, they need to run to a second team to get their career started.
Bookmarking this. It is the most likely scenario. All the people here saying this is a “good hire” are delusional. Ben made some interesting playcalling but he had an amazing leader in Campbell and a stacked offense. There’s no indication he has any leadership capability of his own. This hire is a shot in the dark at best.
A lot of these younger guys don’t really stand out as having a whole lot of charisma or leadership skills. They all look like white slender copycats of Shanahan, like they’re coming out of a factory or something.
Hopefully Johnson can turn things around. The Bears make some mistakes but generally they’ve done a number of things better than some of the other teams. I think they have a better shot than most of the cellar repeaters. I actually like the move better than trying to snag Tomlin. They really need somebody to develop Caleb Williams, they can’t take the unique position they are with that for granted. So getting an offensive-minded coach was the better move IMHO, but he will have to galvanize butts, minds, and paychecks. Yeah, and he’s no Campbell.
Honest question – what will it take for Johnson to be considered a good hire after 1 or 2 years (mainly interested in hearing from Bears fans). Where is the bar set – significant improvement from Caleb? A winning record? Playoffs?
A winning record and a top 10 QB. That’s my low bar to be successful. Playoffs by year three would be the next step IMO.
A this point he’ll be considered a successful hire if he knows when to call a timeout 🙂
Makes him leaps and bounds better than Eberlose anyway. Now if Allen gets DC job hopefully he knows how to play a prevent defense and we’re 3 wins better already.
Loser
Great hire. Bring in Allen. Hearing Rizzi as ST coach. Bring in his buddy Hartley to be the OC (OL coach in Detroit) and help reshape that OL! Can’t believe the Bears opened up the coffer for the HC!
Thank you!! Now please load up on the O line and get a couple pass rushers and we’ll be in business
Now that management made the right decision on a head coach. Poles has his work cut out by making the right decisions with the upcoming draft and free agents to make this team a contender in a competitive division.
Mr Robinson, don’t the Bears have Caleb Williams through at least 2027 (not 2026)?
Ben = $13 Million per year !!! Cha Ching !!!
He is a great offensive mind, but truly will not be a leader of men. He’s never played the game and will not demand the respect of the whole team. I honestly think that Aaron Glenn will be way more successful than BJ will as a HC. He has an offense that was built perfectly for the Lions. He will have to build his own in CHI and do it all on his own without MCDC leading the room for him. Time will tell, but this is my opinion.
This guy seemed like he was patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity. It’s so odd to me that he then takes this job with their bust head case QB in a brutal division.
Fired after 3 years.