The Bears are now officially in a position to hire Ben Johnson if they choose, and Johnson is reportedly interested in the job. As of January 20th, NFL teams can make coaching hires unless they’re still in the playoffs. The Bears are considered favorites to land either Ben Johnson or Mike McCarthy, with Brian Flores also mentioned but seemingly less likely. According to Dianna Russini, Johnson is expected to finalize his schedule for in-person meetings in the coming days, with strong interest from the Raiders, Bears, and Jaguars. However, he may not meet with all three as he evaluates his options.
To gauge fan opinion, I conducted a 24-hour poll with over 7,000 votes, asking Bears fans who they preferred as head coach: Ben Johnson, Mike McCarthy, or “Other” (allowing comments for alternative suggestions). The results were surprising.
Who would you like to see as the Bears next head coach?
— Dave (@dave_bfr) January 19, 2025
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Ben Johnson received over 85% of the votes, while Mike McCarthy got only about 10.5%. Given McCarthy’s impressive resume, I was surprised by how little interest Bears fans have in him as a candidate.
Kinda shocked how few fans like the idea of McCarthy in Chicago https://t.co/3pkc9cpqd2
— Dave (@dave_bfr) January 19, 2025
It’s clear that for many fans, it’s “Ben Johnson or bust” in Chicago. Other names mentioned included Todd Monken, Kliff Kingsbury, Brian Flores, and even Jon Gruden. Despite these suggestions, it seems this is a two-horse race, with Ben Johnson being the overwhelming favorite among Bears fans.
McCarthy wants the Bears job so he can stuff his pie hole with some Uno’s deep dish pizza every week.
Well since it’s the fans that make the NFL possible maybe the Bears should let the fans make the decision. So that’s it. Give Johnson what he wants $$ wise and I’m sure Poles will give him what he wants in players. Why would he not with his job on the line. If Poles fails to get the players Johnson needed to win then Poles will be replaced after next season with someone Johnson wants to work with. Win Win. And yes Skee, Monken should have been in the poll. He would’ve received more votes than McCarthy.
Todd Monken from Baltimore isn’t even on this list, but it’s Da Bears so it’s kinda par for the course here 👈
@Dave, are you really shocked that people aren’t keen to having an underachiever as the next HC? Seriously what does McCarthy offer? You do realize he is as inept as anyone with game management situations. McCarthy does the least with the most rescources. He’s beeen given everything in Dallas and he keeps them down instead of raising them up.
@Irish All of us on this site pleading for more OL talent to be added and Poles does the exact opposite 😂