UA-59049186-1 Welcome to Chicago: Ben Johnson, Head Football Coach - Good if it Goes

Welcome to Chicago: Ben Johnson, Head Football Coach

Already an improvement over the last guy. [Photo: @Directhim on Twitter]

Caleb Williams’ face said it all. After Detroit was eliminated from the playoffs Saturday, the Bears moved quickly, booking an interview with former NFL RB and current Tennessee State head coach Eddie George for Sunday to satisfy the Rooney Rule, and then landing their man on Monday. It didn’t take a second interview – the Bears already knew they wanted Ben Johnson and were going to do what it took to make him the 19th head coach in team history. It was a triumph by an organization long pilloried for its approach to situations like this. They didn’t settle. They didn’t shoot for the middle. They landed the hottest coaching prospect since Kyle Shanahan. And Caleb was visibly thrilled. 

The only guy happier than the fans. [Photo: Dachibearsnews on Instagram]

The top coach on my list by some distance, Johnson spent a season as Detroit’s passing game coordinator in 2021, where the Lions finished 29th in offensive DVOA and 27th in passing DVOA. Johnson got the offensive coordinator job when Anthony Lynn was let go, and in Johnson’s three years as OC, the Lions have finished 7th, 5th, and 3rd in offensive DVOA. Under Johnson’s tutelage, Jared Goff went from a solid, though uninspiring QB and thus, an afterthought in the Matthew Stafford trade, to a legitimately good QB in his own right. Johnson’s efforts earned him the title of Assistant Coach of the Year from the PFWA, with the AP award still pending at the time this was written. 

Okay, now the cons. His offense did rely on the run game to set up playaction opportunities and having an offensive line full of butt kickers like he has in Detroit is crucial to that. Also, the obligatory “has never been a head coach before.” Yes, for every Kyle Shanahan, there are multiple Adam Gases. However, the former was addressed at Johnson’s introductory press conference Wednesday, with Johnson saying that the offense he runs here will not be the same one he was running in Detroit. Rather, it will be a new system, built from the ground up around Caleb Williams. That statement should also help allay fears about the latter.

Ben Johnson said Wednesday that Chicago was where he wanted to be. This is a thing that is said all the time at introductory pressers, of course. But Johnson’s people had spent the last month of the season doing everything except going on national TV and explicitly saying that Johnson wants to coach the Bears, so there appears to be some real truth to it this time. Jeff Hughes from Da Bears Blog said that Johnson just needed a promise that Kevin Warren and George McCaskey wouldn’t interfere in football operations. He got it and the Bears got him. Now it’s a matter of putting a staff together. Adam Schefter named Dennis Allen as a potential defensive coordinator candidate right away Monday. The Bears have interviews set up with Rams defensive passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant and Daronte Jones, who holds the same position in Minnesota. Both guys satisfy the Rooney Rule and would also be solid backup plans if Allen doesn’t happen. Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley was mentioned as a possible offensive coordinator candidate, but that, apparently, is not happening. Ditto Saints special teams and then interim head coach Darren Rizzi as a potential STC candidate; it looks like Richard Hightower is staying. Thus far, Johnson has hired former Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris as the Bears’ defensive passing game coordinator, former Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle-El as the Bears’ wide receivers coach, with an assistant head coach title added, and former Lions assistant QB coach J.T. Barrett as the Bears’ new QB coach. The former two are excellent pick-ups. The latter is getting his first shot as a full-fledged position coach. He was said to be highly thought of in the Lions organization, so there’s reason for optimism.

Whatever Elmo’s calling it nowBlueskyThreads: @312sportsguy

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