The Jacksonville Jaguars may have put the ball back in the Chicago Bears' court in terms of the pursuit of Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Johnson was expected to be a strong candidate for both head coach openings. The speculation entering the weekend was that Johnson may be eyeing the Jaguars over the Bears as that, in theory, would have allowed him to be aligned with a new general manager.
The expectation was the Jaguars would fire head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke on Black Monday, creating a direct path to landing Johnson.
The Jaguars wasted no time in firing Pederson on Monday morning but in a surprising decision, Baalke is remaining in place as the team's general manager.
Multiple sources emphasized last week that the #Jaguars would struggle to attract a top head coach if they kept Trent Baalke. They faced similar challenges during their last coaching search. Owner Shad Khan spoke with many people — but he remains unmoved. Baalke is staying.… https://t.co/rpVVBhNKBu
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 6, 2025
The Jaguars' decision to keep Baalke is the first shocking decision of Black Monday, If the Jaguars wanted to create a clear advantage over the Bears for Johnson, the easy decision would have been to fire Baalke, allowing Johnson and a new general manager to be aligned. Considering the Bears have the benefit of Caleb Williams being on a rookie contract, the alignment with the general manager could have been the difference maker.
Of course, as of now, the expectation is that Ryan Poles will be retained as the Bears' general manager. However, if the Bears wanted to better their chances of landing Johnson, firing Poles would seemingly put them in the driver's seat. That decision would likely instill more confidence in the Bears from the fanbase instead of the recent reports suggesting Poles is looking at lesser candidates such as Vance Joseph and Anthony Weaver.
Johnson, with the Lions on a bye week, can complete virtual interviews for head coach openings this week beginning on Wednesday. Those interviews would need to be concluded by next Monday.