The other shoe dropped on Saturday night. In a shocking turn of events, the Detroit Lions fell to the Washington Commanders 45-31, ending what had been an amazing 15-2 season, the best in franchise history. Not only did they lose the game in crushing fashion, but now fans face the prospect of both of their star coordinators likely leaving for head coaching jobs. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn appear to be in high demand. Now, both are free to meet other teams in person on Monday. Expectations are the Chicago Bears will be active in meeting with them.
For fans, Johnson is the name to watch. He's been linked to the Bears several times over the past couple of months. He likes Caleb Williams and has been eyeing the job since last January. Some wonder if he might prefer the Las Vegas Raiders after a strong pitch from Tom Brady. Either way, people are eager to finally get a resolution. So when can a decision be expected? I went back over the past three years and looked at every coordinator on a playoff team and how long it took them to secure a head coaching job after the season ended.
Dave Canales
- Lost January 21st
- Hired January 25th
Mike MacDonald
- Lost January 28th
- Hired January 31st
Raheem Morris
- Lost January 14th
- Hired January 25th
Jonathan Gannon
- Lost February 12th
- Hired February 14th
DeMeco Ryans
- Lost January 29th
- Hired January 31st
Shane Steichen
- Lost February 12th
- Hired February 14th
Nathaniel Hackett
- Lost January 22nd
- Hired January 27th
Josh McDaniels
- Lost January 15th
- Hired January 31st
Mike McDaniel
- Lost January 30th
- Hired February 6th
Kevin O'Connell
- Won SB February 13th
- Hired February 16th
Brian Daboll
- Lost January 23rd
- Hired January 28th
The data seems pretty clear. While there are certain outliers, it appears most coaches reach their decision around 3-5 days after their playoff run ends. That means the Bears should expect a resolution on Johnson around this coming Wednesday or Thursday. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune indicated as much in his recent column.
One source said the belief was that Johnson likely had his choice of all three jobs and even had the Lions won Saturday, it was likely he would decide sooner rather than later through back channels in order to get to work assembling a coach staff behind the scenes.
Ben Johnson likely knows which way he's leaning.
He will still take interviews with the teams he's interested in over the next couple of days. After that, the decision won't be long in coming. He knows the challenges of assembling a staff, especially with other teams vying for top assistants. No two jobs are more important to fill than defensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Johnson knows that if he can hit on both of those, his chances of instant success will go up considerably. Before anything else, the Bears must take care of some unfinished business.
They still haven't complied with the Rooney Rule, which requires them to interview two outside minority candidates. Ron Rivera met with them in person, which took care of the first one. Another is needed to get the green light. It is possible their recently announced interview with Tennessee State head coach Eddie George will take care of that. Ben Johnson will be waiting once that happens. It sounds like the Bears are fully committed to making a run at him. Fans will be ecstatic if they close the deal.
