Is there really such thing as too much Ben Johnson speculation?
Despite the fact that the Bears are still very much playing actual football, and the fact that right now they're gearing up to play ... someone ... all the attention is squarely focused on the offseason. The Bears' head coaching gig has been one of the most talked about openings across the league since it became available, and the steady stream of gossip around potential candidates has been a fun little sidequest in an otherwise miserable season.
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And while no one really expected the Bears to hire Bill Belichick, all the reporting out there does seem to indicate the two sides briefly considered one another. (Maybe one side way more than the other, but whatever.) But now that Belichick is headed off to Chapel Hill, the Bears are free to narrow their focus to *the* name in this year's coaching cycle: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
It's certainly not a new story, but the amount of reporting done on the Bears' interest in Johnson makes it seem pretty obvious that he's their guy. Example #1,000: in Seth Wickersham's latest story on how the Belichick-UNC deal got done, a small anecdote about the Bears says a ton about their approach.
Bill Belichick's move to UNC revealed some interesting details about the Bears and Ben Johnson
"According to sources with direct knowledge, the group deemed that the Chicago Bears were probably the most attractive job, but that team brass was unlikely to consider Belichick," Wickersham reported. "The group expects the same thing that most around the league do: that the Bears will go offense, hoping to give quarterback Caleb Williams a chance at a career, probably targeting Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson."
A quick aside: I don't love the idea that *Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels* love the Bears. Given how their tenures as head coaches went, isn't that kinda a red flag? Or am I just being a huge bummer? I'm probably just being a huge bummer.
More importantly: Ben Johnson! It's not like you needed another confirmation that they've set their sights on him, but it never hurts to keep hearing. Also, the fact that "most of the league" expects the Bears to go with the young-offensive-coordinator route – as opposed to a traditional Leader of Men type hire – bodes well for the hope that the Bears are finally approaching football through a modern lens.
It's the Bears, so of course the possibility – probability, even – that they'll royally mess this up still exists. But Wickersham is as plugged-in as they get, and this is all good news for the Bears. We'll just ignore the fact that Matt Patricia agrees.