Everybody keeps taking a stab at what will happen with the Chicago Bears head coaching job. There doesn’t seem to be any singular answer. Dan Graziano of ESPN believes it will be Pete Carroll. His colleague Courtney Cronin thinks it’ll be Joe Brady. Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron mentioned Brian Flores. There is zero consensus on who the organization has circled, which tells you nobody around the league truly knows what is going on at Halas Hall. That is most likely how GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren want it.
Still, it hasn’t stopped prominent insiders from revealing what they’ve heard. Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports took his turn during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. From what he understands, the Bears job has become a two-horse race between former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. It is possible Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores could enter the mix if he has a strong interview, but this is where things sit.
The Chicago Bears’ direction seems relatively clear.
While they continue meeting with prominent coaches from a defensive background, it feels like they’re drifting toward hiring an offensive head coach. This isn’t surprising, given they have Caleb Williams’ future to consider. Marrying him with an offensive coach makes complete sense. Johnson has coordinated the NFL’s best offense this season and one of the best over the past three years. McCarthy has coached for 18 seasons, won 174 games, and was a central influence on the development of Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Dak Prescott also had the two highest single-season TD totals of his career (37 and 36) under his watch.
At this point, many seem convinced that Johnson is destined for Las Vegas, wooed by new part-owner Tom Brady and a reportedly massive (unofficial) contract offer. The Chicago Bears have had eyes on him dating back to mid-2023 and had a productive first interview. It is apparent Johnson is a big fan of Williams. However, if he does opt to leave the division for elsewhere, McCarthy seems to be their contingency plan. That isn’t the outcome many fans want, but it is still a sound strategy.
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Bears could already have Ben Johnson as their coach RIGHT NOW. They chose to keep Matt Eberflus rather than hire Ben Johnson for 2024 when he wanted the job and they already knew they had the #1 pick and were taking a QB. Let that sink in. Fucking loser franchise, and always will be. Now they’re gonna lose out on BJ because Tom Brady is gonna close him because Brady is something the Bears are not: A winner.
@Dr. Melhus Could you print out that list and send it to Ryan. Maybe he’ll look at it in March. Personally, I like Monken more than Johnson because he’s built organizations (including defense and special teams – which Johnson hasn’t), and he’s worked extensively with talented and untalented college kids. Which means he actually knows how to develop at coach (🙀😱) which no Bears coach has known about since 1910. Carroll for the same reason. Pete Carroll got this kid to coach defensive backs from USC when he went to the Seahawks in 2008. That kid ended up coaching the… Read more »
McCarthy: Sound strategy?
I heard: Well considering they keep hiring people who I consider “bad ideas” from the very start, why don’t they just do a yard sale of players and see what they can get.
Is a “sound strategy” having a winning record for 17 years and o playoff wins for a decade?
Or a Defensive head coach who “knows a guy” who could be OC . . . for a year.
We seem to have a rough consensus here. Personally: 1a) Johnson 1b) Monken (he’s 1b, not 1a – I think it’s a lot closer than many others, given Monken’s experience and past success, and the fact that spell check keeps turning his name into Monkey, which I find amusing.) 2) Brady (Buffalo guy, not Tom) 3a) Coen 3b) Glenn 4a) McCarthy 4b) Carroll (also very close) … 40) Campbell … 100) Rivera, most of the other schmucks they are interviewing infinity) Flores. He can coach, but he sounds like he’s kind of an asshole, and probably won’t be a long… Read more »
“Hell of a ball coach. What he did this year with the amount of injuries they had I thought was amazing…Anyone who plays for Mike and gets to know him a bit, and gets to feel that great big heart he’s got. It’s special.”
-Aaron Rodgers, the guy was butthurt from McCarthy being the OC for SF when they selected Alex Smith over him.