Good news everyone: we have a new Ben Johnson update. The bad news is literally everything else.
Johnson has long been the apple of Bears fans' eyes over the last couple years, especially as the current head coach in Chicago continues to ... do whatever it is that he's currently doing. Johnson figures to be the coaching candidate of this offseason, as evidence by how he turned Jared Goff and the Lions' run game into two of the best offensive weapons in the league. He had chances to take a head coaching job last year, but turned them down to give it another go in Detroit.
But you can only turn down a promotion so many times, and it's not hard to imagine a world where Johnson finally makes the jump elsewhere this winter. However, it is hard to imagine, at least according to Adam Schefter, that jump being in Chicago. On ESPN's Get Up morning show, Schefter didn't exactly have great things to say about the Bears' chances of landing the Lions' coveted OC.
Adam Schefter's latest Ben Johnson intel doesn't bode well for the Bears
On the future of Lions OC Ben Johnson… pic.twitter.com/z1Z5xcF4LZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 7, 2024
"Ben Johnson's going to be very, very selective about the place he chooses to go, if he decides even to leave Detroit," Schefter said. "He's going to be very careful. I don't know if he desires to leave that division to head in the division, to go into a place that you're talking about the dysfunction that has existed within the organization. We'll see. That's up to him. But I believe he's going to be very selective in how he approaches how to do his business."
A quick little tangent here: what is that sentence from Schefter? Like, I'm not entirely sure it even makes sense. What a weird way to phrase "I don't think he wants to coach the Bears." Maybe Ben Johnson's agent gave him a very specific script to follow – it certainly reads like that, at least – but still, what are we doing here?
Otherwise, I'm sure Bears fans aren't all that surprised to hear that the hottest coaching candidates aren't thilled by the idea of coming to Chicago – that's how they ended up with Shane Walrdon last offseason. It also sounds like maybe Matt Eberflus isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I think we're getting very close to the probability that Johnson goes somewhere else while the Bears go through another very fun and rewarding 5-win season with Eberflus next year. Buy your tickets now!