Less than 24 hours after his Detroit Lions were eliminated from the NFL playoffs in a shocking upset loss to the Washington Commanders, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was already stepping into a new role. As the most highly sought-after candidate during this coaching cycle, it’s no surprise that he was quickly announced as the Chicago Bears’ new head coach on Monday afternoon.
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He made his official introductory press conference on Wednesday, and it seemed to go pretty well. Introductory pressers aren’t everything, but he definitely took a page out of his old boss Dan Campbell’s book. Following those opening remarks, NFL pundit Chris Simms made sure to give Johnson his flowers, arguing that he deserved every bit of interest that he got over the last two hiring cycles.
“This one was another one where I was like, DUH!? I applaud the Chicago Bears, I couldn’t be happier for them… I hold him in the same regard right up there with Kevin O’Connell, Shanahan, McVay, those type of people as far as offensive minds, Andy Reid, Sean Payton, he’s right there with those guys. I thought he was the best offensive coordinator to be a head coach candidate since McVay and Shanahan in 2017. He is special,” Simms said on ProFootballTalk.
There’s no debating how good a coordinator Johnson is. He’s had top-five offenses in scoring and yards for three straight years. Simms’ co-host, Mike Florio, didn’t dispute that point, but he noted how little we know about Johnson. In fact, the Bears hired him without even conducting an in-person interview. Johnson remains somewhat of an enigma.
“For most people that was the first time we’ve ever heard the voice of Ben Johnson, because when you have that secondary role in Detroit, it’s Dan Campbell that’s front and center… And it’s funny too to see a guy, that you’re so used to seeing with a hat. The hat’s off, and it’s a different human being.”
While Johnson had to look presentable for his first official day, we would expect the baseball cap to return to his head in short order. But that speaks to the general feeling of “we don’t really know much about this guy” surrounding Johnson. That was compounded by the circumstances in which he accepted the Bears’ job.
Did interviews distract Ben Johnson during playoffs?
The 2024 Detroit Lions seemed unstoppable on their way to a 15-2 record and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. However, they ran into a red-hot Washington Commanders team that they simply could not stop. They were upset in shocking fashion, 45-31, after having a week off for the bye.
The fact that both of their coordinators—Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn—were busy interviewing for head coaching jobs during the two weeks leading up to that loss became a notable talking point. It was even more jarring considering another top candidate, Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, had stated that he would not take any interviews until the Commanders’ season was over. When framed this way, the upset doesn’t seem as shocking.
When Johnson was hired by the Bears, reports also indicated that he’d already been “lining up staff“. Hiring staff is not a quick and easy process. The fact that he was not only interviewing with several teams but also putting feelers out for potential staff makes it seem like he wasn’t wholly focused on the Lions’ playoff run.
Detroit’s top wideout, Amon-Ra St. Brown, wholeheartedly disagrees with that theory, however.
“Everyone on Twitter, the Lions fans, f****ng hating him, talking about, ‘He didn’t prepare for this (latest game). He was taking interviews on the bye week.’ Trust me. I know Ben. He was as locked in as can be for that game.”
Ben Johnson now joins a Bears team that has a great QB prospect in Caleb Williams and is loaded with offensive skill position talent. The offensive line leaves a bit to be desired, but they should be able to fix that in the offseason.
They enter 2025 with over $66 million in cap space, 5th most in football. That means they can be aggressive in free agency. They also have the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They can use that to select another player to come in and make an impact right away.
