Day 16 of the Chicago Bears offseason. I’ve never had to eat crow. But if it were forced upon me, I would want it fried hard with lemon pepper and mild sauce on it.
- I’m not going to waste much time at the top because I have a to-do list that would make a CVS receipt blush. Here are my three favorite reactions to the Bears’ pending hire of Ben Johnson as their next head coach:
- My initial reaction to the news can be read here. You can also check out how the Bears moved quickly to strike a deal with their new coach and read up on how he is angling to put together a “star-studded” coaching staff. There is a lot out there and so much more to get to in the coming hours, days, weeks, and months. Hopefully, the Ben Johnson era will give us years of quality content to produce.
- The Bears reeled in the big fish. Will it yield the results we want to see? I don’t know. Nobody does. But the beauty of sports is that we get to watch it play out in real time without scripts or producers. With all due respect to the NBA (so much wonderful drama), The Bachelor (my favorite guilty pleasure), and other shows, the NFL is the best reality TV show โ bar none. And Chicago’s football team looks like a potential power player after hiring the hottest name in the coaching market. This franchise took a big swing and connected.
- Over at The Athletic, Kevin Fishbain writes that Ben Johnson is a good bet to get the best out of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. And when you read the story, I imagine you’ll come away feeling that way, too. The Bears are pairing the best quarterback prospect from last year’s class with the best coaching candidate from this offseason. What else do you want from this franchise? Oh, yeah. An offensive line.
- Let me write this now so people don’t act like I’m ignoring it: The Bears have time to get their offensive line right. This upcoming football season won’t kick off until September. Preseason games won’t begin until August. Training camp won’t open until July. Mandatory minicamps won’t take place until June. R-E-L-A-X.
- For those of you who want to obsess over when things are going to happen, here are some notable dates to stick in your calendar app: February 24 (NFL Scouting Combine begins in Indianapolis), March 10 (the living oxymoron known as the legal tampering period of free agency begins), March 12 (free agent contracts can be officially signed), and April 24 (NFL Draft Weekend begins).
- Another important date is April 7, which is when teams that hired a new head coach can begin offseason workouts. That’ll be a notable date for Ben Johnson and friends.
- Nicholas Moreano’s content is worth re-sharing, especially with him talking about Ben Johnson:
- Mark Potash (Sun-Times) writes that Ben Johnson is the right hire, but wonders how he will prove himself to be as good in Chicago as he was in Detroit. I vibe with this sentiment. Doing the smart and obvious thing is a good first step toward bigger things. But you can’t take steps if you don’t put one foot in front of the other. The Bears now need to surround their coach and quarterback with everything necessary to be a winner. Good coaches, skill position players, offensive linemen, top-notch facilities. The works.
- The Tribune’s Dan Wiederer writes that Ben Johnson is a coach with big ideas. Reading this column made me think about the Daniel Burnham “make no little plans” quote I often reference in this space. Maybe I’ll elaborate on that more later because hiring Johnson falls under that conceptual umbrella.
- I am vibing with the sentiment from Jacob Infante (Windy City Gridiron) as he writes about how the Ben Johnson hiring is an example of the Bears finally acting like a big-market team. I’ve often mused about how the Bears are a billion-dollar entity that acts like a mom-and-pop shop and hoped for a day when the organization would throw its muscle around. You’re the charter franchise of the NFL. Act like it. Perhaps this is the first step toward a new era.
- Once this becomes officially official on the Bears’ end with a press conference, I will be ready to move on fully and dive deep into the next steps of what should be an active offseason for the franchise.
- A suggestion for Chairman George McCaskey: Cut a big, fat check to the Tennessee State University athletic department, any TSU scholarship funds, and whatever causes Eddie George is passionate about. Do it as a sign of goodwill and appreciation for George doing this team a solid by taking an in-person interview which satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements and allowed the team to move as quickly as it did to secure Ben Johnson as its new head coach. But also, do it because it is the right thing to do. Giving back to schools and universities (when you can) is good for the soul.
- The college football season ended with Ohio State beating Notre Dame in the national championship game. Do the Buckeyes get to play the winner of Michigan-Northern Illinois next week? Is that how this works?
- Overall, the 12-team college football playoff bracket was mostly a dud. There weren’t enough compelling or competitive games for me to call it a success. With that being said, I am not willing to throw the baby out with the bath water just yet. Some tweaks could get this thing back on track.
- My biggest takeaway from the Buckeyes’ win against the Fighting Irish is that I’d like Jeremiah Smith to be on the Chicago Bears one day. But there are two hold-ups: (1) the OSU WR isn’t draft-eligible until 2027 and (2) I don’t think he’ll be available when the Bears go on the clock with the 32nd pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
- Over at BN Blackhawks, Tab has an updated look at the team’s top 25 prospect rankings.
- Elias Schuster has the box score and player grades from a Chicago Bulls win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
- This was nice to read:
Cubs Fans Give Ryne Sandberg "The Best Medicine" He Can Think Of
— Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation.bsky.social) January 21, 2025 at 8:49 AM
[image or embed]