Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has agreed to develop into the Chicago Bears head coach, a supply informed the Related Press on Monday. Johnson’s representatives later confirmed the information on social media.
The 38-year-old Johnson spent three seasons as Detroit’s offensive coordinator underneath Dan Campbell. He helped flip Jared Goff into one of many NFL’s finest quarterbacks and was extensively thought of the highest head teaching candidate in the marketplace.
The Lions earned the highest seed within the NFC at 15-2 earlier than getting shocked by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders of their divisional playoff sport on Saturday. Detroit led the league in factors per sport and completed second in yards passing and complete yards per sport through the common season.
The Bears fired Matt Eberflus in November and changed him on an interim foundation with Thomas Brown. Chicago completed final within the NFC North at 5-12 and misplaced 10 in a row earlier than closing the season with a win at Inexperienced Bay.
The event of quarterback Caleb Williams would be the high precedence for Johnson within the wake of the Bears’ fourth straight shedding season. The No 1 decide in final 12 months’s draft threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. However he was sacked a franchise-record and league-leading 68 instances.
Johnson has a fan in Williams.
“I believe it’s been actually cool to observe,” Williams stated two weeks in the past. “Throughout our sport, I’d sit again and watch and try to be taught one thing. It was fascinating to observe. [Johnson] had wrinkles for counters and issues like that all through the sport.”
Johnson had sturdy reward for Williams earlier than the Bears confronted the Lions in Week 16.
“There’s no query that this man is gifted. I bear in mind standing on the sideline final sport and you may hear the ball whistle by you,” Johnson stated. “He’s received fairly a fastball and has some creativity to him, can prolong performs and is correct down the sphere as nicely. Like I stated, I haven’t actually dove in and might let you know way more past that, however he’s been spectacular from afar.”
The Bears interviewed a minimum of 17 candidates. That checklist included former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who received the job in New England.
Chicago have simply three playoff appearances because the 2006 staff received the NFC. The Bears’ lone Tremendous Bowl title got here through the 1985 season.
Chicago haven’t received a postseason sport because the 2010 staff superior to the convention title sport underneath Lovie Smith. Johnson turns into their sixth head coach since then, not together with Brown.
In three years underneath normal supervisor Ryan Poles, the Bears are 15-36 with two double-digit shedding streaks. They dropped their remaining 10 video games in 2022 whereas in a teardown mode as a part of a franchise-worst 14-game slide.
Chicago got here into this season in search of a playoff spot after making some high-profile strikes within the offseason, highlighted by Williams’ arrival and a blockbuster commerce with the Los Angeles Chargers for six-time Professional Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. However after a 4-2 begin, the season went off the rails.
The founding NFL franchise fired a head coach throughout a season for the primary time once they let Eberflus go following a sequence of poor late-game choices. The Bears additionally fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in lower than a 12 months, with Shane Waldron lasting simply 9 video games after changing Luke Getsy within the offseason. Brown, who started the season as passing sport coordinator, took over for Waldron after which grew to become interim coach just a few weeks later.
Issues received so dangerous that followers chanted “Promote the staff!” through the remaining residence sport in opposition to Seattle – a 6-3 loss earlier than a nationwide viewers on a Thursday evening.
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