Ben Johnson Needs To Be the Right Hire for Chicago Bears | Deadspin.com

On Monday, the Chicago Bears announced that they hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to become their next head coach.Ben Johnson Needs To Be the Right Hire for Chicago Bears | Deadspin.com

Johnson is replacing Matt Eberflus, who was the first head coach to be fired in-season in the 100-year history of the Bears organization after a comically bad mismanagement during Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day game.Ben Johnson Needs To Be the Right Hire for Chicago Bears | Deadspin.com

At just 38 years old, Johnson has revitalized the career of Jared Goff in Detroit. But now all of the pressure is on him to succeed in Chicago.Ben Johnson Needs To Be the Right Hire for Chicago Bears | Deadspin.com

That’s all because of Caleb Williams. 

Remember, the Bears drafted Williams as the “can’t miss” quarterback prospect out of USC with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. His rookie year was not bad, but it certainly did not come anywhere close to the hype that was advertised.

Eberflus was a mess, but Chicago somehow got worse when he was let go. At just 38 years old, Johnson’s first gig as a head coach will be to bring the Bears back to relevance in the NFC North, which could look a lot different next year.

After an early playoff exit, the Minnesota Vikings could move on from quarterback Sam Darnold in free agency and give the keys of the franchise to their own young quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. The Lions will be without Johnson and likely without defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, so that entire organization will look different. The Green Bay Packers might be the one consistent team– but they’re pretty damn good.

The Bears aren't in a spot where they can afford to be bad for much longer. They have a handful of veterans on their roster that are ready to win now. They're in the heat of negotiations regarding a new stadium. Oh yeah, and Williams is on his rookie deal, where we've seen organizations get desperate and cater to every need of their premier quarterback.

With the Vikings and Lions hopefully taking even a small step backward, Johnson has little time to waste as the lead man in the Windy City. He’s got Williams on a rookie contract for four more seasons. That’s usually the sweet spot for teams to capitalize on a cheap quarterback with talented veterans and make some noise in the playoffs. For example, look at what the Washington Commanders are doing with Jayden Daniels, who is adding even more pressure onto the situation in Chicago.

Johnson was also arguably the best remaining head coaching candidate. The New England Patriots quickly hired Mike Vrabel, and the Las Vegas Raiders were also reportedly courting Johnson, so credit the Bears for speeding this process up and hiring their guy.

According to reports, Williams advocated for the Bears to hire Johnson, and this is now a pairing that absolutely needs to work. If Williams doesn’t start dazzling the airways soon, Johnson could be back to a coordinator job as the Bears will work tirelessly to make this draft pick work.

There’s little reason to believe that it won’t. When the Lions acquired Goff from the Los Angeles Rams, many around the league believed that he was a “throw-in” part of the trade with first-round picks. But Johnson had him looking like an MVP candidate in a very short amount of time.

The Bears have a little bit of talent. It’s not like this is a completely bad roster. Due to their incompetence in 2024, they also have the No. 10 overall pick, which needs to be an impact player.

There’s a lot of pressure on Johnson, but there’s little reason to believe that he can’t handle it.