The Chicago Bears are willing to wait to interview Ben Johnson if they believe he is the guy for the job
With the Detroit Lions set to make a deep playoff run this season, many teams will have to be patient in attempting to score an interview with their highly regarded offensive coordinator. While Johnson is not the first coaching candidate in the league to be chasing a Super Bowl, scheduling an interview with him while Detroit is still in the playoffs will be difficult for the Chicago Bears to pull off.
Lucky enough for the Chicago Bears, their patience could very well be rewarded based on a report from Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog. Similar to how the Bears are interested in Johnson, the feeling is mutual from the offensive mastermind.
“Ben Johnson’s people have made it clear to the Bears that he’s interested,” Hughes says. “But the process of communication with Johnson will be complicated by the (expected) deep playoff run for the Lions. Would the Bears be okay waiting for Johnson till after a Super Bowl? ‘Yes’, Hughes was told, unequivocally, if he’s the guy.”
There’s a lot to unpack in that nugget, but the bottom line is that Johnson sees the appeal in being the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. The thought of getting to mold Caleb Williams into a potential Super Bowl-winning quarterback makes this vacancy one that might be too hard for Johnson to pass up on. He easily could have landed a head coaching gig last offseason but returned to Detroit with the knowledge that he could score the job that he wants this go around.
While the Chicago Bears aren’t the only franchise in need of a new head coach, they offer a roster and young core that not many teams can provide a first-time leader like Johnson. Along with the current group, Chicago has some cap to work with and some solid capital in April’s draft.
Johnson would bring an offensive mind to the Chicago Bears organization that they have never had
With the exception of the Matt Nagy experiment, the Chicago Bears have mostly had defensive-minded head coaches throughout the organization’s long history. Many aren’t surprised that the team is attracted to bringing Johnson into Halas Hall, but they are more surprised that so many things could be changing to make this coaching dream for Chicago Bears fans a reality.
First and foremost, the report that CEO Kevin Warren has received a “green light” to spend whatever is necessary for this hire is foreign to the franchise. The team has cut corners in this department for decades and if this report holds true, it would be a good sign of things to come down the road.
Whenever the Chicago Bears have gone through a coaching hire, they are never in the conversation for a top-of-the-line guy. Being in on Johnson would be a script flip of how we normally see this franchise operate. Everyone in management and above can sense the pressure they are under to get this hire right, especially with Williams’ future depending on it.
Johnson can change the outlook of this team in the short term and far down the road. The Chicago Bears appear patient and will wait out the Lions season in order to get a seat at the table and get Johnson’s services. Despite the team showing interest in a few other candidates, it is clear that Johnson is the guy who can have the biggest potential impact on this team. As long as the interest is there on both sides, there is a possibility that a deal can get done when the time is right.
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