Ben Johnson To Bears Just Went From Smoke To Fire

Chicago Bears fans have likely heard the rumors by now. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the hottest coaching candidate this upcoming cycle. His success speaks for itself. Two top-5 finishes and a third are likely on the way. His team is 12-1 and the current favorite to reach the Super Bowl. He's managed to do this with a roster that isn't overly flush with superstars. The bigger surprise was the revelation that he had an interest in the Bears coaching job earlier this year. Unfortunately, the team decided to keep Matt Eberflus.

Luckily, Johnson elected to stay in Detroit rather than take a job elsewhere. Now that Eberflus is gone, the Bears have the opportunity to make this happen. The obvious question is whether they want to. That was laid to rest by Seth Wickersham of ESPN. He did a deep dive into Bill Belichick's decision to take over as head coach at North Carolina. Chicago was one of the NFL spots the legendary coach wanted, but it became clear they were planning to go with an offensive guy. One specific offensive guy.

According to sources with direct knowledge, the group deemed that the Chicago Bears were probably the most attractive job, but that team brass was unlikely to consider Belichick. The group expects the same thing that most around the league do: that the Bears will go offense, hoping to give quarterback Caleb Williams a chance at a career, probably targeting Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Ben Johnson is either a lock or a massive misdirection.

It is crazy to hear a team and specific coach be tied together like this so early in the process, especially the Bears. They have never done anything like this before, zeroing in on a candidate from the start. Not that it's a bad thing. Johnson is very much worth the interest. His track record speaks for itself. Nobody knows if he will make a successful head coach. However, there is a reasonable assumption that he can help maximize Caleb Williams at quarterback, and that by itself would make the Bears a more competitive football team.

Now, could this be an elaborate campaign of misdirection intended to steer other teams away from the Bears' real target? Sure. Such things would hardly be new. It happens every year in the draft. That said, on the surface this feels like two sides who are on the same page. Ben Johnson wants to coach Williams. That has been made clear through other sources. Chicago wants a top offensive coach to maximize their young quarterback. It seems like such a perfect fit.