The media has swung back and forth on Ben Johnson like a pendulum, trying to figure out where the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator might go to become a head coach. Some thought it was a race between the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. Then the Las Vegas Raiders parachuted out of nowhere to suddenly become the odds-on favorite. Now, even that narrative has shifted once again. The truth is nobody knows where he’s going. It’s been admitted his camp has been remarkably tight-lipped about it.
In such cases, the only thing to do is follow the breadcrumbs. A big one just dropped on Friday when it was revealed that Johnson had signed with agent Rick Smith of Priority Sports. On the surface, that may not seem like news. Coaches always find representation when hitting the market. However, the important part comes from who he chose to hire.
Smith is not Trace Armstrong, which is an important first point. Beyond that, it is worth noting he is an Illinois native. He lives in Highland Park and obtained degrees from both Illinois and Northwestern. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but come on. A hot coaching prospect who’s been connected to the Bears by multiple insiders for months happens to sign with an agent with strong ties to Chicago. That is impossible to shrug off as nothing.
Ben Johnson isn’t the only notable name they represent.
Priority Sports also has Steve Kerr and Mike Kafka as clients. Kerr has deep ties to Chicago from his years with the Bulls. Kafka was a quarterback at Northwestern and just so happened to interview for the head coaching job this past week. Olin Kreutz also had them as agents during his career. This doesn’t guarantee Johnson is coming to the Bears. It’s merely interesting that the representation he chose happens to have deep roots in the city his name has been most connected to over the past month.
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It could end up being a false alarm. Yet people are smart enough to know things like this, which usually indicates something is going on. If Ben Johnson ends up with the Bears at some point in the next few weeks, this will have been the first real sign it was true.
Do signs of what a person is going to do, have anything to do with what a person is, or how good he is? If Ben Johnson decides to choose the Bears as his preferred club, is he who Chicago should choose? While Detroit’s performance frees him to take in-person interviews, should Chicago go ahead and sign him? Does the Lions performance against Washington impact either his leverage, or his attractiveness? For me, it doesn’t change much. But the questions I had before, remain. 1) Does the obsession with the teams in the NFC North, blind the NFC North teams… Read more »
One can only assume that the Bears will announce they have hired B Johnson as their HC by Wednesday 1/22/2025.
I once told an agent that their job was to lie for a living. They lie to the one with the job, about how good their client is and lie to their client about how good they are.
The job of an agent’s client, is to know the truth. Know how good they actually are, and where they are weak.
I am his #1 enemy now, taking over for TWTY and TGena. Somebody had to do this job.
RoosterRider: You mean you would just luv to slap my ass, just like in your dreams. I guess riding that rooster isn’t doing it for you anymore. Remember you have to cut his head off first and then he will go crazy on you, Hyena.