Bears WRs DJ Moore, Rome Odunze excited about coach Ben Johnson — ‘How could you not be?’

NEW ORLEANS — As the Bears limped to the end of their disappointing season, receiver DJ Moore kept an eye on Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. He suspected the Bears’ front office wanted to hire him as their head coach after firing Matt Eberflus.

“They were probably watching him after we fired Eberflus,” Moore said Wednesday. “That was his job interview, just seeing how he goes about coaching.”

Johnson passed the test. The Lions scored more points than any other team in the NFL and finished with the second-most yards. At Soldier Field, Johnson called a play called “Stumble Bum” in which Jared Goff pretended to trip and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Sam LaPorta.

Last month, the Bears landed the most popular head coaching candidate on the market and paid him around $13 million per year.

“Love him — his juice, his energy, his creativity,” Moore said. “Everything that he’s about to bring into the facility is going to be good.”

Moore was one of the four Bears players to attend Johnson’s introductory press conference at Halas Hall, along with quarterback Caleb Williams, receiver Rome Odunze and tight end Cole Kmet. He’s since communicated with Johnson, receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and former Lions players, who gave him a scouting report on the coaches heading to Chicago.

Odunze, who joined Moore in promoting Bounty paper towels during Super Bowl week, was equally enthusiastic about the Bears’ hire.

“How could you not be?” Odunze said. “[The Lions] had an amazing year and were doing things at a high level the entire year. Being able to be a part of that and have that creativity at the helm I think is super-exciting.”

That’s the hope after the Bears finished last in the NFL in yards and 28^th in points in a season that started with so much promise. The Bears had three different offensive coordinators last year and averaged 181.5 passing yards per game, the second-fewest in the NFL. Williams’ passer rating of 87.8 ranked 25^th among quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes last year.

It was a mess.

Moore said Williams will benefit from having one year of experience under his belt — and from the work he does this offseason.

“You still gotta grow,” said Moore, who averaged a career-worst 9.9 yards per catch last year. “I told Rome, he’s still going to do some growing, too. The game is going to somewhat slow down for [Williams] this year. Just go out there and do you.”

Moore sounded like he was ready to move past the Bears’ disappointing season.

“How do you reset? You don’t,” Moore said. “It’s over now.”

A new coaching staff will help the players turn the page.

“It’s the profession,” Moore said. “You just gotta go onto the next one. You can’t drag the past year into the following year.”

Hiring Johnson did more than land the Bears a head coach. It helped swing momentum the Bears’ way after they spent the last three months of the season in a freefall.

Odunze welcomes the fresh start.

“I’m excited,” Odunze said. “Ben Johnson, along with the additions that he’s brought in, it’s awesome to see. He brings an energy and a creative mindset that I think we’ll thrive in.”