It seems as though every day, for the past couple of weeks, there has been a new wrinkle in the Chicago Bears' coaching search and, specifically, in regards to Ben Johnson as a candidate.
Many Bears fans have long-wanted Johnson to be the next head coach. The current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is now free to conduct in-person interviews with any prospective teams and, as soon as he's given an offer, he can accept it.
Because the Lions were bounced from the postseason in last weekend's Divisional Round, this allows a Johnson hire to be made as soon as possible.
And, on Monday afternoon, NFL insider Josina Anderson offered up a massive update in the Johnson saga.
"Developing: There are league sources who now believe Ben Johnson is deeply considering the head coach vacancy with the Chicago Bears," Anderson wrote.
This update will only continue to fuel the fire of bringing Johnson to Chicago, and there could be one more detail to emerge which will cause fans to officially sound the alarms.
Bears fans can officially freak out once one more detail is revealed in the Ben Johnson saga
We know Johnson is going to be involved in interviews this week, but if general manager Ryan Poles is able to secure Johnson's first interview of the group (Jacksonville and Las Vegas are also in the mix), then that will speak volumes to his interest level.
It is going to be a significant turn of events should Johnson visit Chicago before both Las Vegas and Jacksonville. If that were to happen, Poles cannot let him out of Halas Hall without agreeing to a contract.
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If Johnson chooses to interview with Chicago first, that will be telling. That will tell Poles that he is not only interested, but he might even prefer the Bears over the Jaguars or Raiders. And, to be frank, why wouldn't he?
Sure, the Raiders have Tom Brady helping run the show. But, Brady and the Raiders don't have a pick inside the top three of the 2025 NFL Draft, nor do they have an easy path to a capable quarterback outside the draft.
Johnson has said he wants a quarterback he can win with, so the Raiders really don't make a lot of sense.
As for Jacksonville, the fact that they kept Trent Baalke around after firing Doug Pederson is also considered to be a major turn-off for Johnson.
Chicago has Caleb Williams and some weapons on offense. They have the pieces of a good defense. If Poles gives him a strong pitch and allows him to be heavily involved in the rest of the roster construction, we could be looking at the new head coach of the Chicago Bears sooner or later.