In recent years, the Chicago Bears have developed a reputation for making some of the most baffling head coach hires people can recall. They opted for Marc Trestman, a CFL coach, over reigning NFL Coach of the Year Bruce Arians. Next, they chose to hire John Fox despite him being recently fired after a 12-4 season, which was a glaring red flag. Matt Nagy came next, a one-year offensive coordinator from Kansas City with almost no play-calling experience. Last and maybe least was Matt Eberflus, a defensive coordinator who was about to get fired by his current team before the Bears saved him. One can under why people were skeptical this organization would do the logical thing. That is why the Ben Johnson hire came as a jolting shock.
Almost everybody inside the NFL believed the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was the top candidate of this cycle. He’s a sharp, creative offensive mind who is only 38 years old. In an era where everybody is looking for the next Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, Johnson’s allure was easy to see. The fact that Chicago, of all teams, reeled him in has left many stunned, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic and David Kaplan of ESPN 1000.
Two Chicago Bears figures made Johnson happen.
The first and most obvious is Caleb Williams. It’s been an open secret that Johnson is a fan of the Bears’ young rookie, having watched him at USC and also heard plenty of stories through his agent Richmond Flowers III, who founded the QB Collective, a training camp that Williams has worked at since high school. The other is GM Ryan Poles. He’s had an eye on Ben Johnson since the middle of the 2023 season and has been researching him ever since. When the off-season began, Poles made it clear the offensive coordinator was the top priority. He got his man, thanks in large part to the McCaskeys’ willingness to cut a big enough check. It is a gamble, but that is what you have to do to win at anything in this league.
@Krisanthony “Fiscal responsibility” has been interpreted (and taught in MBA programs) as “cost accounting.” The University of Illinois in Urbana actually has one of the best accounting schools in the nation. But what most businesses in the last 50 years have failed to understand, is that “revenue” or “income” are just as impactful (moreso) than “cost reduction.” Growth, revenue streams, mining latent markets, benefits all companies and teams, more than “counting pennies.” But that is what a vast number of companies, have done, and that culture and mentality has spread like a cancer throughout businesses, national economies, and it affects… Read more »
I have been saying this for years. MONEY isn’t everything. Money is a tool to accomplish the goals that you set. For both individuals AND organizations, when money is the deciding factor, you should step away from the table. Period. Money is a tool. Not an end. Why? Because money can come and go easily. That is WHY money was created throughout human society. It is smaller, easier to transfer than a donkey or a house or a piece of land in the wasteland. For individuals, making any decision based on $$ only, is the height of stupidity. Anyone who… Read more »
Hmmm… I think this hire was more self preservation, than football prowess. The mob… die hard Bears fans, are starting to turn on him (McCaskey), with the “Sell The Team!” montra. We are fed up with the wanna be, and wash up coaching staffs, we, and the players had to deal with. Fed up with the assumption that all offensive linemen are created equal… Will we be able to “Break The Cycle”? We’ll see.
It is amazing that people need to spend 50 years getting screwed before they come out of the woods to see what is actually working in the rest of the world, and then “oh, yeah! We invented the wheel!!!!”
Well, some people are just like that. Slow, but if you beat them long and hard enough, they come up with the famous: “Oh Yeah!”
Was I talking about the Bears? Oh Yeah, them too.
@Dr Sallie, no way is this a George hire. This is George acquiescing to football people’s needs in this situation. He get kudos for agreeing to hire Ben at $13 to 15 mil despite owing Fluss $14 mil over next two years. He gets kudos on when the hire a guy like Allen who won’t be cheap. George is doing what a responsible owner should be doing. This is another 1st time coach, but he’s not here merely because George offered the job. This is a rock star hire that forces George to act out of his comfort zone. I’ve… Read more »