The hope that Ben Johnson would leave the NFC North was folly.
The highly coveted Detroit Lions offensive coordinator who orchestrated the No. 1 scoring offense of the 2024 season has landed the Chicago Bears head coach position, to the chagrin of the Minnesota Vikings and the rest of the NFC North.
“Bear down: Chicago is finalizing a deal to hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as its next head coach, sources tell ESPN,” Adam Schefter announced on X (formerly Twitter) on January 20. “Bears are getting their man.”
Bear down: Chicago is finalizing a deal to hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as its next head coach, sources tell ESPN. Bears are getting their man.
Ben Johnson Not Guaranteed to Fix Bears, Caleb Williams
With Johnson joining Caleb Williams, the Bears have formed one of the most promising head coach-quarterback duos in the league.
However, potential doesn’t guarantee success.
Johnson benefited from a stout Lions offensive front that featured Pro Bowlers in Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler and Penei Sewell. He also had a supporting cast of ultra-talented playmakers and the precise passing of Jared Goff.
Williams has all the playmaking potential in the world, but he isn’t in the same mold as Goff, primarily a pocket passer who delivers the football on time and in rhythm.
Williams’ ability to freelance outside of the pocket was his flashiest trait in college. It worked at times in Chicago but also led to catastrophe.
He took a league-leading 68 sacks last season — 16 more than the next closest quarterback. The Bears offensive line has its shortcomings, but the unit ranked average in pass-block win rate.
Johnson will have to reel in Williams if he hopes to emulate Detroit’s offense in Chicago.
However, there is the potential for more inventiveness from Johnson, who has shown to be one of the most creative play-callers in the league, with a mobile quarterback as talented as Williams.
Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell Praises Bears’ Caleb Williams
GettyBears quarterback Caleb Williams.
By the time the Vikings faced the Bears in 2024, former head coach Matt Eberflus was already fired.
The chaos in Chicago was not conducive to quarterback development, which Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell empathizes with, even if it involves a rival quarterback.
After a Vikings overtime victory at Soldier Field, O’Connell left Williams with a message of encouragement despite the difficult circumstances.
“His message is just to keep going,” Williams said of O’Connell’s postgame message. “Hell of a player, keep going, way to fight. He said it sucks he got to go against him for a while — he has to go against me for a while. But hell of a player. Excited to see me out there fighting, leading these guys.”
It’s clear the Bears took note of O’Connell’s quarterback-friendly culture by hiring an offensive-minded head coach to helm the development of Williams moving forward.
“I just think as a whole, there’s not enough emphasis put on the organization’s role in the development of the position, meaning I believe that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations,” O’Connell said last year on “The Rich Eisen Show.” Just overall 30,000-foot view, I think it’s important to understand that every single one of these guys is on a journey. A very difficult journey. That they need the support, they need the teammates around them, they need the systems in place to ultimately try to maximize who they are and what their potential is because you’re still drafting players off of potential. And then everything that happens from that moment to when that potential becomes a reality is really on the organization if you’ve got the right guy that you’re bringing in.”
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Vikings Get Bad News About Rival Head Coach Hire