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.
@Tred It might just be that Ben Johnson also accepts his own limitations, and while he would of course want input into the roster, he also understands he has enough on his plate just making the leap from OC to HC. Based on things he’s said in the past when assessing his own readiness, I think that might be the case. So, if that’s true, then having a GM that has always shown a willingness to work WITH his coaching staff, and not just running off to do his own thing, like Pace, most recently, was actually probably more attractive… Read more »
I really hope they will take Johnsons ideas to heart when it comes to the draft and filling holes in this offense. I feel like Ben knows what it takes to build a solid offense much much better then Poles does. They better listen to what he has to say to get this thing right for next year. I imagine Caleb is stoked right now he got the guy he wanted as well.
@TGena – or maybe the Bears let Johnson and Allen (if he’s signed) draft the guys they want, and Poles takes a step back to run administration and the rest of football management?
I’m wondering what sort of inducement(s) they offered BJ in place of bringing his own GM with him? That would be fascinating to know, because Johnson didn’t even do his other interviews. So, it’s safe to assume they offered something more than Caleb Williams being here.
it appears that McCaskey stepped up to the high money demands and told Johnson that it will not be a issue. So pleased that they didn’t McCaskey this because Fluss will still be getting paid $7.5 mil in each of the next 2 years. It’s looking like Johnson is starting among the highest paid HC’s today so kudos to George for realizing that a couple years of swallowing bad money is the correct thing to do if you want to get the franchise right. So we know Jacksonvilles owner has big money, he was also willing to fire his GM… Read more »
Now that the Bears “got it right” with HC Ben Johnson.
It’s all up to GM Ryan Poles — either: fix the roster; or be discovered.