Ben Johnson and Sean McVay have never met. One would think the two have nothing to say about each other. However, they’ve become linked over circumstances related to key football decisions. In 2021, McVay felt the Los Angeles Rams needed a change at quarterback. Jared Goff had failed to get them over the hump to a championship. Matthew Stafford wanted a fresh start after years of disappointment in Detroit. The two teams came together on a trade. Stafford went to L.A., where he won the Super Bowl that year. Goff tried to revive his career with the Lions, and a year later, he got his wish when Johnson took over as offensive coordinator.
What followed was the best stretch of seasons he’s ever had, even better than what he accomplished with McVay. Unsurprisingly, that success enabled Johnson to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Sure enough, the two men came together again, this time on a trade for veteran guard Jonah Jackson, who’d struggled in 2024 and was eventually benched. He reunites with Johnson, who coached him to great success in Detroit. McVay was asked about the trade on Pardon My Take. The conversation then shifted to Johnson and the coach’s thoughts on him.
His response was fascinating.
Sean McVay gave Johnson the highest praise.
Keep in mind that many consider the Rams head coach one of the authentic geniuses in the NFL today. He’s known for having a photographic memory, able to recall any play from any game he’s ever coached. So, for McVay to say Johnson is way smarter than him is the highest of compliments. The point about him being a whiz kid offensive mind that McVay didn’t cultivate was also interesting. If you look at the top offensive coaches around the NFL, many of them have direct ties to the Rams head coach.
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Johnson is one of the few who ascended to the NFL mountaintop without his influence, so it is little surprise the two are compared to each other. It probably doesn’t help that Johnson got more out of Goff than Sean McVay did. In four seasons with the Rams, Goff had a 94.1 passer rating. In three seasons with Johnson, he had a passer rating of 102.7. Like it or not, that challenges the notion that McVay is the absolute pinnacle of offensive brain power in the NFL.
There were two other reasons: first, to support the Nantucket, MA’s economy and, second, to fight the growing problem of food insecurity in America. I try to do my patriotic share during troubled times while residing in the UK.
Talk about wild admissions, I ate 20 large American sea scallops with a bottle of chardonnay tonight to celebrate International Women’s Day and the Bears’ new culture under my HC Ben.
My Detroit relatives and I disagree about politics, economics. religion etc., but we do agree that if my HC Ben cannot turn the Bears around, then it cannot be done except by someone with massive sloppy luck. His mind works like a minicomputer with all sorts of forces and factors taken into account that OCs would never consider. So if you know about matrix algebra and factor analyses, then you have an idea about the complexity of his mind.
If Ben can resemble McVays ability as an overall HC… we are in fk’n fantastic hands for long time.
New England radio was still complaining this morning about not getting Thuney.
Muah ha ha ha