Days After Lions’ Playoff Collapse, Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson Gets The Bears’ Head Coach Job

The first-seed Detroit Lions’ season ended on Saturday with a 31-45 loss to the heavy underdog Washington Commanders. Quarterback Jared Goff threw for 313 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, including a pick-six.

That loss, though, has freed up the Lions’ coaching staff to look for other jobs. And there’s been no hesitation in that category, as offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has agreed to a head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, following a virtual interview during Detroit’s first-round bye.

Johnson also interviewed with the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, although he reportedly wasn’t interested in the Jaguars due to “the setup,” likely concerning ownership and the retaining of general manager Trent Baalke.

Instead, he opted for Chicago, who offered him around $13 million per year – a staggering figure for a man with a grand total of zero years of head coaching experience. That figure would spot him as the seventh highest-paid coach this season, ahead of coaches like the Ravens’ John Harbaugh. If that price indicates anything about the trend, other coachless teams should be expecting to shell out this offseason.

Johnson, of course, was highly sought-after for a reason. The Lions finished the regular season first in offensive points per game, yards per game, touchdowns per drive (an astonishing 33%) and red zone touchdown percentage. The Lions averaged at least 26 points per game in the first three years of Johnson’s tenure, while Chicago has had four seasons meeting that criterion in the Super Bowl era.

His innovative offensive structure will now be tasked with elevating quarterback Caleb Williams, heading into his sophomore year, as well as promising pieces such as D’Andre Swift (who had a good season last year with the Eagles), DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.

The team also has a top-ten draft pick and a top-five amount of cap space, with which the Bears can hopefully improve an offensive line that saw Williams get sacked a league-leading 68 times.

Johnson’s connections may also prove key, as he’s reportedly already assembling his coaching staff. According to Adam Schefter, former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen is the “leading candidate to become his defensive coordinator.”

Williams praised Johnson’s offense earlier in the month.

“During our game, I would sit back and watch and try and learn something while I watch,” Williams said. “It was fascinating to watch because he always had wrinkles for counters and things like that throughout the game. I think he’s obviously done really well, so it’d be cool to see how that all goes down.”

Chicago interviewed 17 candidates, seeking to fill the position vacated by Matt Eberflus following an unceremonious firing in November following a six-game losing streak. They went 1-4 after the firing, ending the season scraping the bottom of the division at 5-12.