You have to give the Bears credit — they got their guy.
Well, they got the guy. It remains to be seen if they got the right guy. Did they get the next Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay? Or the next Brian Daboll/Josh McDaniels? Did they get the Ben Johnson who called the “stumble bum” that turned into a touchdown against the Bears? Or the Ben Johnson who called the ill-fated reverse to Jameson Williams that turned into an untimely interception in the Lions’ playoff loss to the Commanders?
We’ll see about that soon enough. For now Bears general manager Ryan Poles and president Kevin Warren have earned the right to celebrate getting the process right. They got the hottest coach on the market — the two sides were finalizing a deal late Monday. That’s progress around these parts. The Bears’ biggest win yet over Tom Brady.
This is not Marc Trestman, who had never had sustained success as a coordinator in the NFL when the Bears hired him in 2013. This is not Matt Nagy, who had never been a play-caller in the NFL when the Bears hired him in 2018.
The 38-year-old Johnson comes to the Bears with better credentials. He took over an offense that had ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring in 2021 and ranked fifth, fifth and first in his three seasons as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. He did it with a quarterback in Jared Goff, who, while a former No. 1 overall pick, is more assembly-required than plug-and-play; A quarterback who has been as good or better in his offense than McVay’s — a pretty good sign in this league that you’re doing things right. Every major weapon has blossomed or had his best career success in Johnson’s offense.
Poles took the big swing he needed. As the hottest coordinator available, Johnson is a litmus test for the theory that every coach who walks into Halas Hall becomes a lesser version of himself. Nagy was a refreshing Andy Reid disciple in his first season in 2018, with fun plays like “Willy Wonka” and “Santa’s Sleigh.” Four games into his second season, Nagy was under fire, having to explain why he ran only seven times against the Saints (“I’m not an idiot.”) or why he didn’t give Eddy Pineiro a shorter field goal from his perferred has mark against the Chargers. And it was all but over.
Or more recently, Shane Waldron, who was successful, if modestly so, as an offensive coordinator with the Seahawks but a disaster with the Bears. He lasted just nine games before being fired by a desperate Matt Eberflus.
Quarterbacks flourished under Waldron in Seattle — Russell Wilson went to the Pro Bowl in 2021; journeyman Geno Smith went to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023. But Waldron lost his touch with rookie Caleb Williams, whose regression in three games after the bye week was so alarming, it forced Eberflus’ hand.
Even Poles has been caught in that trap. Less than a year after Poles said — in the glow of the trade that led to Williams being drafted No. 1 overall — that he was here to break the cycle of failure at Halas Hall, he was a part of it. A string of losses under his charge — retaining Eberflus and the hiring of Waldron plus Velus Jones, Nate Davis and a substandard offensive line — led to a 5-12 season that left him 15-36 in three seasons.
Ben Johnson is up next to take his shot at changing the cycle. We don’t know if he’s a leader of men who will command the respect of a locker room desperate for leadership. Or if his offense can work with a refurbished offensive line. But he’s an offensive coach with legitimate credentials as a coordinator and play-caller, with a history of good quarterback play. He was the hottest coordinator in the cycle and he had other options. And after being in the NFC North for the last six seasons, he chose the Bears.
That’s a pretty good start.