It’s happening.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Ben Johnson will be the Chicago Bears’ next head coach once the two sides finalize a deal. Other league insiders are reporting it, too. This is bonkers:
The report comes shortly after NFL reporter Josina Anderson shared news that the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was “deeply considering” taking the Bears gig. I guess those considerations have taken the next step. You can read that post here.
Ben Johnson and the Bears are on the cusp of being officially official
If it feels like we have been discussing Ben Johnson as a Bears coaching candidate for a long time, it is because we have. And once it becomes officially official, we’ll get to dive deeper into it. This is fun.
Patrick wrote what I felt to be the definitive Ben Johnson profile to kick-start this whole endeavor. You should check it out in full. But for now, here is a snippet:
Schematically, Johnson’s offense consists of tight formations and multiple looks from the same look coupled with clear and concise direction that allowed the Lions’ offense to play fast (which is the style of offense that Caleb Williams has thrived in this season). But most importantly, Johnson’s bag of tricks features player and coach input. In Rogers’ story, Johnson details how his playbook features ideas and concepts from tight end coach Steve Heiden, who worked under Bruce Arians and Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona.
While his offense borrows from many, it’s his—and, more specifically, the team’s. He urges his players to take ownership of that and do what they do better than anyone.
So … Ben Johnson is going from coaching alongside NFL Coach of the Year candidate Dan Campbell and the NFC North champion Lions to running his own show with a Chicago Bears team that finished in last place in the division. What a gnarly turn of events. Credit to the Las Vegas Raiders for throwing this thing for a loop and putting us in anxiety mode. But all is well that ends well (assuming Johnson’s contract goes off without a hitch).
We’ll have more as soon as details present themselves. Holy cow. This is a thing that is happening.
