The Chicago Bears knew they had to nail their head coaching hire after the Matt Eberflus disaster. That meant chasing the best possible candidates. Everybody agreed that Ben Johnson was atop that list. He’d carved out a stellar record as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator across three seasons. During that time, his unit never finished outside the top six. Everybody agreed the team’s resurgence was largely due to his success. The Lions weren’t naive. They knew it was only a matter of time before he got a head coaching job somewhere.
What they might’ve been a little naive about was thinking the Bears wouldn’t be an option. Former defensive end Chris Long hosted Lions GM Brad Holmes on his Green Light podcast. Eventually, the topic came around to Johnson taking the Bears’ job earlier this year. Holmes admitted that he was surprised and disappointed it went that direction. He figured that Chicago would’ve been at the bottom of the list since so many teams were interested in Johnson. It was a considerable shock when he learned the coach actually preferred the Bears from the beginning.
Ben Johnson didn’t want to let loyalty rob him of an opportunity.
The coach adores Detroit and the opportunities they gave him. However, passing him a gigantic career opportunity out of loyalty isn’t smart business. Ben Johnson recognized what the Bears offered. They had a talented young quarterback to develop, along with a roster that was a few moves away from being competitive. Not only that, but turning the Bears into a winner would elevate any coach to instant stardom. The prospects were way too good to pass up. Holmes understands that, but he also understands his job just became a lot harder. He knows how good a coach Johnson is. Having to face him in the same division twice a year is not the level of challenge he was expecting or looking forward to.
This serves as an important lesson. Never expect loyalty to deter players or coaches from doing what they think is best for themselves and their families. Holmes had no qualms about swiping David Montgomery after he left Chicago. The road goes both ways.
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It was more than money and some talented QB. Those plausible and rational factors were very secondary to the real reasons. And George knew it.
No way was my HC Ben going to be happy and raise a family in Bubba Jag Country or Sinning Davis Vegas. Not for even 17M.
Never expect loyalty to deter players or coaches from . . . GOING WHERE THE BIG MONEY IS OFFERED.
My read on the situation is that Johnson ending up here is a confluence of many factors. Caleb and a strong roster that just needs some repair is one of them, but another factor is that Johnson and his wife both love Chicago. They visited the city some years ago, and both felt it would be a great place to settle down and raise their family. Now, I think that if the Bears had a crap quarterback and much less talent on the roster, Johnson probably would have ended up elsewhere, but I think the personal life part of this… Read more »
You pretty much have to take Ben Johnson at face value. He wanted to grow Caleb Williams and realized that there was some talent the Bears had. They had some decent receivers and he probably knows the reputation in this town. In this Sports town, Bears are King. If you win here, you will own the town, and become a lifetime mayor with keys to the city. It sounds like an easy proposition, but many have tried and failed. Maybe Ben will succeed where others did not. So far, I like what they’ve done in the off season- but there’s… Read more »
My Detroit relatives knew Chicago was his preference, but not Holmes? My HC Ben and GM Holmes must not have been socially close. Or you simply do not feel comfortable about telling your boss you are interested in leaving to join an opponent. Whatever, people in the know knew of his leanings.