The Chicago Bears knew they had to nail their head coaching hire after the Matt Eberflus disaster. That meant chasing the best possible candidates. Everybody agreed that Ben Johnson was atop that list. He'd carved out a stellar record as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator across three seasons. During that time, his unit never finished outside the top six. Everybody agreed the team's resurgence was largely due to his success. The Lions weren't naive. They knew it was only a matter of time before he got a head coaching job somewhere.
What they might've been a little naive about was thinking the Bears wouldn't be an option. Former defensive end Chris Long hosted Lions GM Brad Holmes on his Green Light podcast. Eventually, the topic came around to Johnson taking the Bears' job earlier this year. Holmes admitted that he was surprised and disappointed it went that direction. He figured that Chicago would've been at the bottom of the list since so many teams were interested in Johnson. It was a considerable shock when he learned the coach actually preferred the Bears from the beginning.
Ben Johnson didn't want to let loyalty rob him of an opportunity.
The coach adores Detroit and the opportunities they gave him. However, passing him a gigantic career opportunity out of loyalty isn't smart business. Ben Johnson recognized what the Bears offered. They had a talented young quarterback to develop, along with a roster that was a few moves away from being competitive. Not only that, but turning the Bears into a winner would elevate any coach to instant stardom. The prospects were way too good to pass up. Holmes understands that, but he also understands his job just became a lot harder. He knows how good a coach Johnson is. Having to face him in the same division twice a year is not the level of challenge he was expecting or looking forward to.
This serves as an important lesson. Never expect loyalty to deter players or coaches from doing what they think is best for themselves and their families. Holmes had no qualms about swiping David Montgomery after he left Chicago. The road goes both ways.
