Week 16 was another wash, rinse and repeat scenario for the Chicago Bears. They lost again; for the ninth-straight time, to be specific.
The Detroit Lions put on a show and, after getting out to an early 20-0 lead, eventually took care of business as the Bears did their best to try and make it competitive. In the end, though, this one wasn't all that close.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson did his best to impress the Bears and, at one point, even toyed with Chicago in a way that was absolutely hilarious and yet, at the same time, a bit disrespectful.
When Johnson's offense ran the "fake fumble" play, as some fans refer to it as, and proceeded to score a touchdown, it was like one gigantic slap in the face accompanied with a résumé for the head coaching vacancy.
And, on the latest episode of CHGO's Bears podcast featuring Greg Braggs Jr. and former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, the two of them discussed Johnson and the supposed interest involved in the Bears' coaching vacancy.
Briggs happened to refer to Johnson as the "front runner" for the job, first of all.
"The situation for Ben Johnson, you know... I'm sure he's the front runner," Briggs said.
Lance Briggs questions whether the Bears fit Ben Johnson and vice versa
After referring to Johnson as the "front runner," though, Briggs went on to caution the Bears.
"But he's made some comments before about things that need to be changed within certain organizations ... is this a situation where (he) comes in and says, 'listen, if I'm going to coach for the Bears, these are things I demand to go along with it' because of history?" Briggs asked.
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Briggs, of course, is talking about a report that came out just a few weeks ago which specified Johnson's criteria for accepting a head coaching gig this offseason. And, as many Bears fans were quick to point out, Chicago doesn't exactly fit the mold.
So, on one hand, Johnson has some requests for his future employer. But, there are only a limited amount of these jobs; 32 to be exact. So, there may have to be some give and take.
Now, Briggs also cautioned fans a bit as well.
"If Ben Johnson takes over for the Bears, it's not going to look like it does in Detroit because we don't have that offensive line," he said.
Obviously, Johnson has a great thing going with one of the best offensive lines in the game today. The Bears on the other hand? They can't say as much.
If Johnson took the job in Chicago, he'd need assurance that this team was going to do everything it could to fix the offensive line, among other things, but that's a story for another day.
Johnson is a phenomenal candidate, but fans must understand that things are not likely to look like Detroit in Year 1. It's going to take a bit of time.