The Chicago Bears won’t have to ask Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, what he thinks of starting quarterback Caleb Williams if they end up interviewing him for their head coaching position in the 2025 offseason.
while Johnson answered a question about Williams at his weekly news conference prior to the meeting between the two teams in Week 16, he couldn’t help but smile while discussing the Bears’ rookie quarterback and the first overall choice in the 2024 draft.
Johnson grinned and said, “This guy is definitely talented.” “I recall hearing the ball whistle by you while I was on the sidelines during the last game. He has some inventiveness and a good fastball. Accurate down the field and able to prolong plays.
Bears supporters will undoubtedly become envious of Johnson’s remarks and implore the team to hire him as their next head coach, or at the very least, give him serious consideration. Over his four seasons with the Lions, including three as their offensive coordinator (2022–24), he has established himself as one of the NFL’s best young offensive play-callers.
With other weapons like D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet already in place, Johnson and Williams together might provide the Bears with the high-octane passing offence they have been missing for years.
The question now is: How heavily will the Bears prioritize Johnson in their search?
Ben Johnson Expected to Interview for Bears’ HC Job
Due in major part to the fact that many of the top applicants, including Johnson, are unable to agree to interviews with head coaching teams until after the 2024 regular season concludes in January, the Bears have not started interviewing candidates for their head coach vacancy.
Nevertheless, Adam Schefter of ESPN noted during Monday Night Football in Week 16.
He stated before the game that he anticipates the Bears would interview Johnson and other offensive-minded head coaching candidates in the upcoming months in an effort to identify the best fit to maximise Williams’ abilities as a rookie.
Johnson’s popularity, however, could create problems for the Bears in their pursuit.
Johnson should draw interest from multiple head-coach-seeking franchises during the 2025 hiring cycle. He interviewed with five teams — and declined an interview with a sixth — during last winter’s hiring period for the 2024 season. While Johnson ultimately decided to return to the Lions in 2024, he sounds more ready to make the leap in 2025.
The most notable aspect is what appears to have motivated Johnson to write such a dishonest play. The play looks a lot like one the Green Bay Packers ran against the Bears in 2023, when quarterback Jordan Love inadvertently fumbled the snap and then recovered to find Luke Musgrave wide open down the right sideline near the end zone. Consider comparing the two plays side by side.
Johnson may have just discovered a gap in the Bears defence to take advantage of, but it’s also likely that he used the occasion to demonstrate his play-calling inventiveness and film-study abilities to the Bears head office, who may interview him next month.
Sports reporter Jordan J. Wilson focusses on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers while covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. For a number of publications, including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register, and Peoria Journal Star, he has previously covered sports at all levels, including high school, college, and professional. Additional information regarding Jordan J. Wilson
“I’d say I’m much more prepared than I was the last two years,” Johnson said earlier in December. “Now that I’ve been through the wringer a couple times, had some interviews, I certainly do feel more prepared, just from a big-picture standpoint.
The Bears have a quarterback and resources (draft capital and cap space) to appeal to a candidate like Johnson, but so, too, do other teams seeking their next “leader of men.”
Did Ben Johnson Put His Creativity on Display for Bears?
Bears general manager Ryan Poles has now had an opportunity to watch Johnson’s creative play-calling tendencies at least six times in person over the past three years, but Johnson did something in Week 16’s latest matchup that seemed — to some — to speak directly to Poles, team president Kevin Warren and the rest of the Bears’ brass.
Early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, the Lions perfectly executed a trick play that included a fake stumble from quarterback Jared Goff and a deceptive dive to the ground for a fake fumble from running back Jahmyr Gibbs. The play resulted in a few Bears defenders biting on the deception and Goff tossing a 21-yard touchdown pass.
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