There was a time at the beginning of the year when the Chicago Bears might not have hired Ben Johnson as their head coach. There was a second choice that fans might be happy didn't happen.
Johnson was one of the finalists for the head coaching job back in January before he got the job. But at one point, the other candidate was former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
How different would things have been if Chicago had hired McCarthy instead of Johnson? CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin shared his wildest "what-if" scenarios in the NFL. Benjamin wondered what would have happened if McCarthy landed the Bears job.
"Chicago has high hopes for Caleb Williams under new coach Ben Johnson the long-coveted Detroit Lions play-caller. Despite a tough schedule, plenty are wondering if Windy City might actually snap its playoff drought in 2025. Before Johnson agreed to switch sides in the NFC North, however, the Bears considered reeling in another big fish, interviewing former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy following his abrupt exit from Dallas. Had McCarthy wowed Bears brass to earn the job, he would've been matched up against the Green Bay Packers who employed him for 13 years. Johnson, meanwhile, may have landed his first head coaching gig in Las Vegas, where Raiders minority ownerTom Brady hired Pete Carroll ... but only after reportedly making a strong push to secure the respected Lions assistant."
How different would the Bears have been with McCarthy?
Bears fans will have their personal feelings about McCarthy, but he has put together an impressive resume. He went 174-112-2 overall as the Packers and Cowboys head coach while winning a Super Bowl in 2010 in Green Bay.
McCarthy has been the head coach in Dallas over the last five years as he led three straight seasons with 12 wins and postseason appearances from 2021 through 2023. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's injury last year derailed Dallas' season as the team finished 7-10 and McCarthy was not hired back after his contract ended.
The biggest question would have been what McCarthy's plan would have been to help develop Williams. McCarthy had shown success with getting Prescott to improve his play as two of Prescott's three career 100+ passer rating seasons came under McCarthy.
One concern would be how can McCarthy adapt to the times and modern the game enough to compete. Before taking the Cowboys job, he was getting big into analytics and using it to make decisions. It led to wins for Dallas, but only one postseason victory in five years might have had McCarthy needing to adjust.
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Johnson has proven over the years to have an innovative offense with a quarterback in Lions starter Jared Goff, who isn't considered a top-10 passer, but still wins games. The Bears knew that they needed a younger, tougher coach who was willing to push Williams to improve quickly in his development.
Removing the bias part about McCarthy being a former Packer, Chicago should be happy to have Johnson leading the way for the future.