The Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson for several reasons. Chief among them was his obvious offensive aptitude, having coordinated the Detroit Lions to great success over the past three years. His ability to elevate quarterback Jared Goff to the best work of his career made it an easy decision to pair Johnson with Caleb Williams. Beyond that, the coach earned a reputation as a grinder, obsessed with details and high intensity. These are all traits the organization felt Matt Eberflus didn’t have enough of. However, Dan Campbell made sure to point out something people are missing.
Detroit’s head coach acknowledged Johnson’s intelligence as a play caller and insatiable work ethic. However, he was also quick to point out something else that makes him such a complete coach: an eye for talent. While the offensive coordinator doesn’t have the final say on personnel, Campbell admitted Johnson had a strong voice in who the Lions drafted during his three years on the job. The results were almost universally positive, which bodes well for what is to come.
“He’s got a good eye for what he’s looking for, guys he thinks can play a certain role for us,” Campbell said. “I think he and I saw things very much alike, so that helps. But he’s got a good eye for those things. Certainly, he didn’t lack input on players he liked or what he saw, what he thought they could do. Just like everyone else on our staff – if they got a vision for a guy and they believe in him, speak up. And he was one of those guys who did it.”
Dan Campbell has evidence to back up his argument.
In three years as Lions offensive coordinator, the team selected an offensive player in the first three rounds three times. Those picks resulted in wide receiver Jameson Williams, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and tight end Sam LaPorta. Williams cracked 1,000 yards receiving last season, while Gibbs and LaPorta have both made the Pro Bowl. They may not have been Johnson’s picks exclusively, but if Campbell were telling the truth, then the young coach would have been a major proponent of all three.
That bodes well for the Bears. Having a GM who is good at identifying talent is one thing. However, history says it is often best when the GM and the head coach both have that ability. Think Sean McVay and Les Snead in Los Angeles or Andy Reid and Brett Veach in Kansas City. Chicago probably hasn’t seen anything like it since Jim Finks and Mike Ditka were briefly together in 1982 and 1983. That yielded incredible results. If Dan Campbell is right about Johnson, this new partnership with Poles could be loads of fun.
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Well I can’t recall being impressed with a Bears draft or any free agency work. So maybe Ben will work some magic and we’ll see some promising personnel moves.
Can’t wait until the season starts to see if any of this hype is warranted. Still think fixing the holes on Defense should be considered. It would buy time for these new coaches to stay alive and on track. Going .500 means a lot by the end of December.
Sorry if I have to see it to believe it.
This right here is why I think Jeanty is more on the table than people think. If Flus was still HC it would be a no way on drafting Jeanty. Ben however? And the importance of the running game in his system? I think they are looking very closely at Jeanty. It all depends on what they can do in FA and how many OL and/or Edge players they are able to sign.
I was in agreement with this article until it indicated Ryan Poles was a great evaluator of talent, sorry but I call that bullshit.
The guys record speaks for itself, his many mistakes as it relates to player acquisitions are there for all to see, like Coach Dan Campbell said, our new Coach Johnson is a great evaluator of talent, please stop attempting to include Ryan Poles in the same sentence.
Erik, don’t call it a Johnson-Poles “partnership,” because it implies a closer, more equal relationship. Instead, let’s call it an “association,” whereby MY HC BEN is more than equal and more freely detached in this relationship. Otherwise, the Bears will continue to lose more than they win, somewhat similar to the last three years.
Fun for the fans? Hell yeah. Fun for a resident cynic? No way! He’ll never be on here after they get good. He wont even have a sympathetic Dr Sillie who will turn nice after the Bears get good.
Not sure what will happen to our boi!
He will just disappear until after a loss, then emerge to tell us how bad they are. Business as usual.