In recent years, the Chicago Bears have developed a reputation for making some of the most baffling head coach hires people can recall. They opted for Marc Trestman, a CFL coach, over reigning NFL Coach of the Year Bruce Arians. Next, they chose to hire John Fox despite him being recently fired after a 12-4 season, which was a glaring red flag. Matt Nagy came next, a one-year offensive coordinator from Kansas City with almost no play-calling experience. Last and maybe least was Matt Eberflus, a defensive coordinator who was about to get fired by his current team before the Bears saved him. One can under why people were skeptical this organization would do the logical thing. That is why the Ben Johnson hire came as a jolting shock.
Almost everybody inside the NFL believed the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was the top candidate of this cycle. He’s a sharp, creative offensive mind who is only 38 years old. In an era where everybody is looking for the next Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, Johnson’s allure was easy to see. The fact that Chicago, of all teams, reeled him in has left many stunned, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic and David Kaplan of ESPN 1000.
Two Chicago Bears figures made Johnson happen.
The first and most obvious is Caleb Williams. It’s been an open secret that Johnson is a fan of the Bears’ young rookie, having watched him at USC and also heard plenty of stories through his agent Richmond Flowers III, who founded the QB Collective, a training camp that Williams has worked at since high school. The other is GM Ryan Poles. He’s had an eye on Ben Johnson since the middle of the 2023 season and has been researching him ever since. When the off-season began, Poles made it clear the offensive coordinator was the top priority. He got his man, thanks in large part to the McCaskeys’ willingness to cut a big enough check. It is a gamble, but that is what you have to do to win at anything in this league.
@Dr Sallie, no way is this a George hire. This is George acquiescing to football people’s needs in this situation. He get kudos for agreeing to hire Ben at $13 to 15 mil despite owing Fluss $14 mil over next two years. He gets kudos on when the hire a guy like Allen who won’t be cheap. George is doing what a responsible owner should be doing. This is another 1st time coach, but he’s not here merely because George offered the job. This is a rock star hire that forces George to act out of his comfort zone. I’ve… Read more »
An ideal situation is where the GM/personnel guy and the HC work in unison on roster needs. The HC has the better feel where the roster is than any GM so his input is very important. I think that’s why Johnson wanted this job so much that he turned down every second interview. Poles had to have given the right answers when Ben inquired about those kind of things. They don’t need to be hired together if they find a way to work together. Looks like they have.
And for all of you who think Caleb was the wrong pick, and the Bears should have taken Daniels or Maye – 1) Washington explored trading up to #1 to take Williams. Bears wanted too much, or wouldn’t even negotiate. 2) Ryan Leaf began his career 2-0, as the #2 pick after Peyton Manning. Manning went 0-2 in his first two games, and 3-13 in his first year. Should the Colts have traded him, or taken Leaf instead? Don’t think so. It’s way too early to judge either QB. RG3, Wentz both looked like world beaters as rookies, now RG3… Read more »
@TGena: Yes, Poles is the only Bears GM to have two first overall picks in a row. But he got the second one with a shrewd trade. Suppose he made a trade for KC’s first rounder next year, and KC had an inexplicably horrible year and got the first overall pick (maybe Mahomes is injured for the year, Kelce retires, and Andy Reid has a heart attack that he survives but keeps him off the sidelines and out of football duties for the season). Would that make Poles a better or a worse GM? Neither, really, good trade and some… Read more »
I don’t know about the rest of the Bears position coaching staff, and then his offensive coordinator, but I’m happy to get a head coach who will KNOW if a receiver can’t run a route, doesn’t know if a receiver is blocking downfield, or coming back to bail out his quarterback.
All details that Eberflus didn’t recognize, the Getsy and Waldron didn’t coach, and no one did.
Defensively, I think Dennis Allen can be another Spagnola in his understanding of defense and attention to details. Whoever is OC, will have some who knows what is going on.