The Chicago Bears will face the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday but for Bears fans, the focus will be on the Lions' sideline.
Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson remains a name at that top of the list for the Bears when it comes to head coaching candidates. Johnson's work with the Lions' offensive while unlocking a new level of play in Jared Goff has many fans wanting him to have the same success with Caleb Williams as the next head coach of the Bears.
In speaking about Williams during his weekly press conference, Johnson did admit he was impressed with the rookie quarterback.
Ben Johnson sounds like he wants to get to know Caleb Williams
"It’s been difficult to sit down and study every throw, but plenty of crossover tape over the course of the year. There’s no question this guy’s talented. I remember standing on the sideline last game and you can hear the ball whistle by you. He’s got quite a fastball and has some creativity to him and can extend plays, and is accurate down the field also. So I haven’t really dove in and can’t tell you much more beyond that, but he’s been impressive from afar,” Johnson explained.
When it comes to Johnson, the hope is that the Bears do not make the process complicated. The Bears, whether it's a head coach hire or a general manager hire, tend to think the outside consultants they hire are the smartest people in the room. The issue with that strategy is that the Bears are using consultants who are not actively in the NFL. That setup is why you have the disastrous hirings of Phil Emery, Marc Trestman, John Fox, and Matt Eberflus over the last 15 years.
On paper, Johnson is the best candidate for the Bears' opening. There has been a pushback that Johnson may not be the "leader of men" that the Bears are looking for, but the easy rebuttal to that is if Williams' ascension takes shape with the current Lions' offensive coordinator as his head coach next season, it won't matter.