Johnson’s coaching staff,

Established and impressive.

Did Bears get it right?

Right before the 2020 season, I wrote an article about how Ryan Pace had mortgaged the Bears’ future foolishly, chasing a contention window that had already closed. The sentences that ended that piece: “The 2020 Bears should be a pretty good team. Fans would be wise to enjoy that, because 2021 and beyond don’t look as though they’ll be quite as much fun.”

Five years later, I wish I had been wrong, and I suppose I was wrong about 2020. That vintage went 8-8 and was not particularly good. But the four seasons since have been downright miserable. During that stretch, the Bears have:

• Finished 21-47, the 2nd worst record in the NFL.
• Finished 5-19 in the division, averaging barely more than one win in six attempts per season against their main rivals.
• Suffered through two losing streaks of at least ten games, the only such streaks in the 100+ year history of the franchise.
• Cycled through three head coaches.
• Been outscored by a cumulative 312 points.

Besides losing a lot, the offense has been a particularly brutal experience. In the last four years, that unit has:

• Averaged only 19.2 points per game, ranking an average of 24th in the NFL each year.
• Allowed 229 sacks, the most in the NFL in that span by over TEN sacks. (They’ve ranked in the bottom 7 in sacks allowed all four seasons.)
• Cycled through five offensive coordinators, the best of whom could charitably be described as adequate.
• Spawned seemingly a million film studies about how the offense lacked any sort of clear plan or cohesion.
• Made me scream at my TV in frustration roughly 25 times per game due to a stupid mistake you don’t expect a varsity high school team to make (not getting the play call in on time, running the 14th WR screen in a row, getting conservative as soon as they get into long field goal range, etc.).

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3 AM ET: I will be live blogging the press conference. Come back for the one-liners and full-throated criticism of the new coach’s haircut.

11:53 AM: Things I will be focused on:

• Cliche usage. I’d love to see one of these press conferences that is void of mindless coach speak.
• Hair. Call it “the Trestman effect.” One look at Marc Trestman and any objective observer knew success was an impossibility.
• Dumb questions. Which of the reporters will try to stir a nonexistent pot? My bet is Dan Wiederer is disappointed to learn that once again I’m far better connected in the sport than he is and tries to create some news.

12 PM: Really like the single, isolated podium approach to this press conference. It makes this event about a solitary figure, not the organization writ large. And I love Ryan Poles vacating the podium in 30 seconds. Perfectly executed.

12:01 PM: Ben Johnson sounds like a football coach. Very few platitudes coming out of him. He sounds tough. It is a departure from what we’ve heard around here recently.

12:02 PM: Why is this presser not on the NFL Network right now? When did the NFL Network abdicate their role at this time of the season? They used to cover every firing, and every hiring.

12:03 PM: NFL Network literally just broke into the presser while I was finishing the previous sentence.

12:05 PM: Ben Johnson says the roster is “loaded with talent” and that’s something I had been hearing a lot in the last month.

12:07 PM: “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” is a terrific line from a first-time head coach. I didn’t hear a single cliche from Johnson in his introductory remarks. He sounds like a guy who knows he is ready for the opportunity.

12:10 PM: One thing I love about this press conference: it is super boring. No Trestman hair. No Adam Gase eyes. Nothing but a football guy talking about football. Refreshing.

12:13 PM: Interesting to hear Johnson say how important it was to raise his family in a city they love. That is something fans never understand. (Nobody really wants to live in Jacksonville, and nobody wants to raise their children in Las Vegas.)

12:15 PM: “Most important thing we do here is establish the culture in the springtime.” Pivotal point, and something that I reiterate when folks are critical of interim coaches. The head coach does his primary work in the off-season.

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The Bears have a new head coach, and it is the most coveted offensive mind on the market. Here are some notes.

• I spent a few days around Christmas with a high-ranking personnel man in the league. He was adamant about this marriage taking place THEN. I’ve seen some national writers deem this move a “surprise”, but it was certainly not a surprise to anyone I speak with routinely about the sport.
• As I said on the Irish Bears Show, Ryan Poles wanted Ben Johnson, and Ben Johnson is excited to work with Poles. But Johnson did have questions re: the structure of the organization, primarily Kevin Warren’s role in football operations. I’m told George McCaskey made it clear that football ops are not in Warren’s purview.
• Tom Brady complicated the deal. This is undeniable. He made a great argument for the Raiders job and Johnson certainly considered it.
• Mike McCarthy was the backup plan. The Bears flew him in specifically for that purpose, showing they were nervous about Brady’s influence. (Side note: how can the league be comfortable with one of their four most important broadcasters being this influential with a single franchise?)
• Expect this staff to come together quickly. I’m told Johnson had specific names during the Zoom call last week, and one of those names is Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. But Johnson has said he wants as many former head coaches as possible in the building.
• I’ll be discussing the hiring further with my friends in Des Moines at 1:45 PM ET today, after I’ve had an opportunity to make a few calls on the situation.
• I would expect Johnson’s introductory press conference to be tomorrow, and I’ll be here to live blog that.

A new day in Chicago: The #Bears are finalizing a deal to hire Ben Johnson as their head coach, per sources.

Johnson is set to fly there soon and contract parameters are in place. Barring a last-minute snag, the #Lions OC lands with an NFC North rival. pic.twitter.com/Y1i4lRtpw5

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 20, 2025

Huge THANKS to our buddy @dabearsblog for joining the podcast this week! ️

You NEED to hear Jeff’s exclusive take on Ben Johnson and why he’s the favorite for the #DaBears job this offseason!

Don’t miss out—catch the full episode on YouTube NOW:
… pic.twitter.com/3Lywvv5Ly1

— Irish Bears Network (@IrishBearsShow) January 14, 2025

Instead of just stringing together social media posts, I figure why not use my own website to collect all my thoughts concerning the head coaching searches in Chicago, and around the league.

• The whole “leader of men” cliche really needs to be retired. Men, football players, follow their leader when they win. That’s the long and short of it. If you show your program is successful, players will gravitate to your leadership. Do you think Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh had much in common besides their ability to win football games? Is anybody inspired by Bill Belichick’s personality? (The answer is no.) Find a winner. The players will follow him.
• The offensive options, as I see them:
  • Ben Johnson is going to be the top choice. But Johnson is going to bring baggage to the interview process, including demands in the personnel department. Will the Bears view him worthy of those concessions?
    • One source told me that Ryan Poles covets Johnson, while others in the building (Warren, especially) are looking for established program builders.
  • Liam Coen is the wildcard in this process, and I think he’s been every bit as impressive as Johnson this season. Is he ready to be a head coach? Nobody knows, but Coen would be a quarterback-centric hire.
    • Coen’s work with both the running game and tight ends in Tampa have been something of a revelation in 2024.
  • Todd Monken would certainly be an interesting hire, and he has certainly paid his dues at both the NFL and collegiate levels. Monken is also an Illinois native, so it’s likely a job he’ll covet.
  • Joe Brady. Beware of hiring coordinators of great quarterbacks. None of Peyton Manning’s or Tom Brady’s ever became a successful head coach in the league. Josh Allen is a great player but he’s also a unique one. Brady is going to be able to bring very little from Buffalo to Chicago.
  • Kliff Kingsbury. Unless Caleb seriously goes to bat for him, Kingsbury would be a risky choice. Some guys are just coordinators. That’s how K.K. profiles.
  • Drew Petzing is an interesting coach to interview, and he’s almost certainly going to be a head coach in the next five years. (He’s not an actual contender for this job.)
  • Mike Kafka. I saw a lot of fans getting worked up over this interview. But sometimes personnel guys give their friends head coaching interviews to raise their profiles. That’s what is happening here.
• Defensive options, as I see them:
  • Everybody will now be shocked if Mike Vrabel doesn’t end up in New England, but the job will likely have some appeal for Ben Johnson due to the presence of Drake Maye.
  • Vance Joseph, Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, and Anthony Weaver are all solid, well-respected coaches. But they will arrive will major questions on the offensive side of the ball, including how they’ll manage the quarterback position. If you’re the Bears, why not allow the coaching rotating door to move to the other side of the ball for once?
• Program builders, so to speak:
  • Mike McCarthy is a good head coach. But this is not the time for the Chicago Bears to try and hit singles.
  • David Shaw is a coach I desperately wanted the Bears to consider a cycle or two ago, but I worry about guys who have not actively coached in the league for a number of years.

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I don’t know George McCaskey, despite spending the last few years having to deny I am George McCaskey. Have we spoken? Yes. Several times. That’s it. We don’t have dinners together. But over the years I have become quite friendly with people deep inside the organization, several of whom can be described as being in George’s inner circle. And based on my communication with George, and my conversations with these individuals, there is an unequivocal truth to the following statement: George McCaskey is a very good man, and he very much wants the Chicago Bears to be successful.

Can George McCaskey engineer that success? So far, no.

First, something needs to be repeatedly stated. George is one of the most hands-off owners in the league. He hires a general manager, and that GM runs the entirety of football operations. (Ryan Pace was singularly responsible for millions spent on facilities in Lake Forest.) Kevin Warren was hired to take over the business end from Ted Phillips and get the new stadium sorted. The administrative aspects of this organization are a mess. The stadium issues are dramatically unresolved. Is Kevin Warren the worst hire of George’s tenure? No, not in a world where the football leadership was once Phil Emery and Marc Trestman. But Warren is pretty close.

Now, an argument that is constantly made is that George should hire a “football guy” to run the franchise from the ownership level. But that method has been proven time and time again to fail. Parcells flopped in Miami. Holmgren flopped in Cleveland. Coughlin flopped in his return to Jacksonville. These are three of the most impressive football minds in the modern game and they achieved nothing in those roles. Who would the Bears even hire? So, while many bark mad about the ownership of this club, I focus my attention on the football, and that means the GM.

The Bears could have Jim Harbaugh running their ballclub right now but that would have required firing Ryan Poles last off-season. Harbaugh is the alpha in an organization. He chooses the individual serving in the head personnel role, and he chose Joe Hortiz, his longtime friend, to lead the front office in Los Angeles. And, be honest with yourself, did Poles deserve to be fired in January? Poles tore down a decrepit roster for two seasons and rebuilt the team into what most of us believed should be a double-digit win unit this year, even with a rookie quarterback under center. They still need talent on both of their lines, but I dare you to find one preseason analyst who called this Bears roster anything other than seriously improved. If this 2024 season had happened a year ago, the move to Harbaugh would have been something of a no-brainer. But it did not.

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