Things move fast in the NFL. Unfortunately, that is almost never the case for the Chicago Bears. They’ve often had a reputation for being glacial in their operations. That wasn’t going to happen this time. It became clear after the regular season ended that Ben Johnson was their preferred candidate for head coach. The problem is the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was in high demand. Many wondered if the Las Vegas Raiders, led by new part-owner Tom Brady, might steal him away. In the end, GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren got it done. Johnson is set to become the Bears’ 19
This move feels like something that has never happened with the Bears before. It never felt like they landed the most coveted candidate during any previous coaching cycle going back decades. Johnson was a premium target last year before returning to Detroit. This year was no different. Many teams wanted him. In the end, the Bears had the right pitch and the right bait. Just 48 hours after the Lions’ season ended, the franchise has their new head coach.
The Chicago Bears’ mission was crystal clear.
It was doing everything in its power to maximize Williams. He has the capability to become a star. For that to happen, he needs the right coach to bring it out of him. Johnson was masterful for three years in Detroit, reviving Jared Goff’s career after many wrote him off as a lost cause in L.A. He’s also a big proponent of a strong ground attack, which fits Chicago perfectly. The path ahead is clear. Poles must utilize every resource available to overhaul the Bears’ struggling offensive line. If he can get that squared away, the offense on the horizon could be one the best this organization has seen in many years.
Awesome
I haven’t felt this level of excitement for the franchise since the Khalil Mack trade. It seems like everyone in the organization executed their jobs perfectly to make this happen. It feels like a corner may have been turned in building a consistent winner. Let’s go!!!!!
I’m glad that everything I had hoped for from their actions turned out to be true. They didn’t just hire a guy “with experience”. They were on Ben the entire time. The wide net cast was 3 parts. One, to find a fallback option should BJ not be interested, two, gather info from other organizations and three, to appease the critics about “the process” it really looks like that Poles established back channel communications with Johnson’s camp for some time because this wouldn’t have happened in 48 hrs after he became available. Poles worked him for some time and battled… Read more »
How many picks did he cost? Not that Poles knew what to do with them anyway.
Ben’s aware of the OL situation. Right? Build a line and show us what’s in the trick play bag. This could be fun but that was the sentiment after pre-season and look how that turned out.
I believe this is Ryan Poles and the Bears organization making a strong statement to the fan base. This is a guy they wanted badly, as well as other teams. They did what they had to do to make it happen. I’m looking forward to this draft and free agency. If this trend continues and we build a solid roster around Williams we have a chance to be special. Hopefully great things are in our near future.