We don’t know what the future holds for Ben Johnson. But at least we now know that new Chicago Bears head coach has a sense of humor — and a basic understanding of clock management.
During an interview with Johnson on Fox Sports, Johnson was given a PURELY HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO by host Danny Parkins. In the — again, purely hypothetical — scenario, Johnson’s team is playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving and … well, I’ll let Parkins take it from here:
.@DannyParkins draws a VERY VERY specific hypothetical situation to Ben Johnson, but the Bears HC wasn't taking the bait 😂👀
"We're not going there today." 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Wo1aPANqct— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) January 23, 2025
This was quite the exchange between Danny Parkins and Ben Johnson on FS1 today:
DANNY PARKINS: Totally hypothetical scenario. If you were playing Detroit on Thanksgiving and your quarterback took a sack and you had one time out and were out of field goal range and the clock was running down and there was confusion everywhere. Hypothetical scenario completely coming up with it off the top of my head. Would you (A) let nothing happen and a wild hail mary that had no chance of winning or would you (B) help your quarterback out and call a timeout? Again, hypothetically.
BEN JOHNSON: We’re not going there today.
Oh, so the new Bears head coach has some wit. That’s fun!
I hope Ben Johnson brings an analytical mindset to coaching
Also, you saw the timeout signal at the 9-second mark of the video above, right?
The video above should be a reminder that you don’t need words to get your point across.
And while I realize that Danny Parkins was having fun with Ben Johnson in the interview, there is a small part of me that wonders if that came up during the Bears’ virtual interview back in January. This tweet from The Athletic’s Senior NFL insider Dianna Russini has stuck with more for a little more than a week:
BN FLASHBACK: Matt Eberflus’ Explanation For His Irredeemable Clock Management
When I first saw the tweet above, my immediate reaction was “I hope the Bears were the team asking about game situations and clock management.” Because, as someone who has lost count of how many times one of Chicago’s coaches has bungled time management situations in the most obvious of ways, I would make it my duty to pitch hypothetical clock management scenarios to prospective candidates. It would be foolish not to do so.
The next football game of consequence that will be played by the Bears won’t happen for another 7-8 months. So we won’t know how Ben Johnson will manage game situations. But with that being said, I hope he uses the time between now and then to iron out plans to do so quickly and decisively when the time comes. Preparing now for situations later could be the difference between winning or losing.
Or, if all else fails, do the exact opposite thing that your predecessor would do. That seems like it would be bound to work.