Everybody knew that if the Chicago Bears wanted to hire Ben Johnson, they were going to have to change the way that they did things.
In landing Johnson it was clear that the team decided to put more money into the franchise and invest in the coaching staff. However, a recent report from ESPN showed us just how much more they invested.
Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported that Ben Johnson will make about $13M per year. This is a stark contrast from the $6M per year that Matt Eberflus reportedly signed for. That is more than two times as much, a massive shift.
The Chicago Bears learned from their Matt Eberflus mistake.
This makes sense in a couple of ways.
First, when Eberflus was hired, most of the fanbase was either disappointed or had no opinion of him. He was not the hot name in the coaching search and he was reportedly on the hot seat as a coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts.
Some fans would even go as far as to say that they made the cheap hire. Typically, when you buy something cheap, you spend twice as much because you have to replace it. The Bears appear to have learned their lesson by spending up this time and securing the top candidate.
Johnson had at least three teams interested in him, and he also had the chance to return to the Detroit Lions and receive a raise to stay. The Bears were not negotiating in the same way with Johnson as they were with Eberflus.
We will see if the results change, but it is clear that the process has. The Bears are realizing that they need to invest in the football side of things to become a winning franchise and now that they have Caleb Williams at quarterback, they cannot be viewed as the team that does not spend everything it takes to win with him. This is a great first step in that process.