People aren’t sure what to make of the Ben Johnson situation. The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator won’t be hired as a head coach anywhere until his team is out of the playoffs. Still, he’s now completed interviews with four teams: New England, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, and Chicago. Recent rumors would have you believe that the Raiders are a growing threat for his services, spearheaded by a push from new part-owner Tom Brady. It appears the Patriots are poised to hire Mike Vrabel. Bears fans are left wondering if their preferred candidate is slipping away.
Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog broke through the noise with a recent update. His connections around the NFL have always been solid, which made his new information interesting. It was made clear that nothing had changed. Johnson still wants the Bears job. It is his preference. The key was always whether others inside the organization, aside from Ryan Poles, would get on board with him. As for the Raiders rumors, they are nothing more than noise generated by his agents to improve his price tag.
Ben Johnson appears to have handled his interview well.
Early whispers indicate he made an even better impression than expected, presenting a strong plan for quarterback Caleb Williams along with a vision for how he’d build the team. Team president Kevin Warren seemed impressed, which was an important hurdle to clear. Conversely, Johnson’s fears about the Bears’ power dynamic were assuaged. They presented a clear plan for ensuring roster management and coaching were united, something he was concerned about.
This doesn’t guarantee anything, of course. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the head coaching cycle, it’s that it will be fluid. Things can change quickly. Based on Hughes’s statement, Ben Johnson wants the job. He is eager to work with Caleb Williams. This will come down to money, and recent reports suggest the Bears have no problems shelling out for the guy they want. Johnson will get his money. If he is on board with working alongside Poles, this feels like a partnership that could work.
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Steelers fans are yelling for Tomlin to get fired and to hire Ben Johnson. I hope the Bears don’t trade for him. For 1 every trade we’ve made with Pitt we have lost. He would likely improve the Bears however he’s not going to take them to where every team’s ultimately goal is, the Superbowl. He’s been awful finding a good OC as well. This should take Arthur Smith well off the list as well. That would be the ultimate screw you however if somehow they ended up with BJ and we got MT. We would never hear the end… Read more »
If Poles gets this guy, Caleb should greatly benefit! I like his play calling, and game awareness. Fix the OL, get an edge rusher, and more depth, and then get after it!
Give Ben the money, power, and status. In Ben we trust.
One thought, if Johnson is in fact hired, is that Lou Anarumo from Cincinnati could end up being his DC. He just got fired at the end of the year, but earlier in his 6 year tenure, Cincinnati’s defense was among the best in the league, which was also back when even KC couldn’t seem to beat Cincy and they got to the Super Bowl. It’s been down the past couple of seasons after Cincinnati couldn’t afford to keep alot of their defensive talent, especially in the secondary, because they were spending on huge contracts on the offensive side. The… Read more »