One thing to remember is that highly-touted coaching candidates aren’t destined for one team. Multiple organizations are sure to have an interest in his services. Chicago Bears fans should remember that regarding Ben Johnson. Yes, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is rumored to have interest in the job, but other teams may have ways to sway him. It appears one of them is already in the process of doing precisely that. Albert Breer alluded to it earlier this week when he said the Jacksonville Jaguars might be a team to watch on that front.
Now, Benjamin Allbright, a proven insider for KOA Colorado, reinforced this. The belief is Jacksonville can offer Johnson something the Bears can’t at the moment: a chance to pair with a GM he’s familiar with. Expectations are that the Jaguars will fire Trent Baalke after the season ends. That means they have the freedom to hire whoever Johnson wants. That idea seems far more appealing to the young coordinator, who’s reportedly made it clear he prefers alignment with the GM.
Ben Johnson is putting the Bears in a tough position.
They already insisted GM Ryan Poles was safe after the firing of Matt Eberflus in November. The plan was for him to help lead the search for the next coach. However, that is already becoming problematic as one of the top options isn’t interested in working with him. So unless they’re willing to shift gears and fire him, they may have to find their next head coach elsewhere. That is sure to get severe backlash from fans who have been calling for Poles’ head for weeks as the team sits at ten straight losses.
They don’t see any logical reason he deserves to keep his job. He hired Eberflus. He built one of the worst offensive lines in football. His only solace is being able to maneuver for a chance to draft Caleb Williams. That alone should not absolve him of his mistakes. Ben Johnson is the kind of coach who seems like another Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan: young, creative, aggressive, and able to connect with today’s athletes. If Poles is the only one standing in the way of that, the decision shouldn’t be difficult.
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This is a sad, crazy, funny situation all at the same time. GM not good enough, coach not good enough, coordinators not good enough and we were sold on a “generational” QB to make it all better. Just to repeat the same cycle all over again. Dear McCaskey family please sell the team, you know Papa Bear is heartbroken with the state of our beloved team.
@Dr. S – no, I think many fans here are not unhappy with Swift over Barkley or Henry. Too many still think Ryan Poles knows what he’s doing, and no matter how poorly his moves turn out they still think his choices make sense.
Even when it is extremely clear that they didn’t, and don’t. Like in the case of giving a gadget back who cannot block 24M even after Detroit ditched him and picked up our better RB for less money.
33rd Ben Johnson article and counting.
Fire the failing GM so that u don’t have to worry about that possible conflict with any candidate out there. Seems pretty dam simple. Getsy didn’t do a good enough job so he got fired. Waldron didn’t do a good enough job- fired. Flus not good enough – fired. Why TF should Poles, the man who had a direct hand in putting this whole team/coaches together, somehow get to stay? What exactly has he done to warrant the courtesy of more time?
Question: Would you rather work with a team surrounded by gullible, “knowledgeable” writers who flip every six months from kissing your butt to screaming for you to be lynched? Or a place where no one cares whether you get up on the wrong side of bed every other day?
Are all pro team fan bases as idiotic as the writers for those teams?