Ben Johnson has been a heavy favorite for the Chicago Bears head coaching job since it first became available a few weeks ago. Insiders have reported that the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is interested in the job, likely due to the presence of quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears are also interested in him thanks to his outstanding success with that Lions offense over the past three years. It is a virtual guarantee the two sides will meet next month. From there, it depends on if they become comfortable with each other.
However, there is one lingering fear. One thing about the Bears is they’re never known for their patience in the search process. In the entirety of the Super Bowl era, the latest the organization has ever hired a coach was January 24th when they selected Dick Jauron in 1999, and that was only because their initial choice, Dave McGinnis, backed out. So what happens if Detroit makes a deep playoff run, perhaps even to the Super Bowl? Would the Bears be willing to wait for him even into February? Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog provided an answer to that question.
Ben Johnson’s people have made it clear to the Bears that he’s interested. But the process of communication with Johnson will be complicated by the (expected) deep playoff run for the Lions. Would the Bears be okay waiting for Johnson till after a Super Bowl? “Yes,” I was told, unequivocally, if he’s the guy.
Waiting for Ben Johnson would show something new from the Bears.
They have never been patient. They want to fill key jobs as quickly as possible rather than wait for the best potential candidates despite evidence that such a strategy tends to work. San Francisco didn’t hire Kyle Shanahan until February 6th. Mike McDaniel wasn’t hired until February 6th. Kevin O’Connell wasn’t hired until February 16th. Zac Taylor wasn’t hired until February 4th. Sensing the pattern yet? It’s almost as if coaches who help their teams in a deep playoff run might be pretty good at their jobs.
Ben Johnson has already done this once, helping Detroit reach the NFC championship last year. Now, he’s the primary reason they are in contention for the #1 seed in the playoffs. One of the worst things the Bears always do is overthink it. Rather than take the reigning Coach of the Year in Bruce Arians, they got “creative” by hiring Marc Trestman. In 2022, rather than go with Dan Quinn, who’d been to a Super Bowl before, they went with Matt Eberflus. Maybe it’s time for them to try the obvious route for once.
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@David. I’m not a stat guy. We are a team that comes out flat. Detroit spotted Buffalo 14 points in the 1st quarter. It was a big game. There is the potential it could happen here putting us in the same old rut of QB hero ball.
I’m just saying, before we throw the job at BJ, at least get Coen in for an interview. JMHO, but he’s done more with less.
Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes would be the only 3 QBs I would consider moving on from our current QB. If that HC suggested any other names, the Raiders, Colts, or Browns can have him.
@barry u gotta move on. CW owns 70% of the sacks. The guy constantly runs backwards and gets sacked rather than throw it out of bounds. And, yeah, takes us out of field goal range. Man watching Jayden throw darts all over the field and we coulda had him over Mr. Hero ball??
@Barry,
Hypothetically. That coach gets passed up. He doesn’t get to come in and throw away what the owners and football world consider a generational talent.
Good thing it’s the real world where Ben Johnson wants to work with QB1. According to info of their past history at the Quarterback Academy. Also Joe Brady, has done wonders with Josh Allen, who share more of a skillset and style of play as Caleb Williams.
A hypothetical: 1) Assume that there’s one HC candidate out there who’s best equipped to help the franchise win now. 2) Assume that, through some miraculous combination of art and science, the McCaskeys key in on whoever that person is. 3) Further assume that the two sides come to an agreement. 4) Now, assume that the last condition of that agreement is this: The new, generationally gifted HC wants to pick their own QB1. The QB1 they want is not the current QB1 of the CHI, but is a QB1 who is obtainable. What do you do? You have the… Read more »