Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson agrees to become Bears head coach, AP source says

 

[January 21, 2025]  By ANDREW SELIGMAN and ROB MAADDI

Ben Johnson helped Jared Goff establish himself as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks.

Now, he'll try to do something similar for Caleb Williams.

The Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator has agreed to become the Chicago Bears head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the contract was being finalized.

This will be the first head coaching job for the 38-year-old Johnson, who was widely considered the top candidate on the market after spending the past three seasons as the Lions offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell. He joined Detroit's staff in 2019 following a seven-year run as an assistant with the Miami Dolphins.

With Johnson overseeing the offense, Goff has thrown for more than 4,400 yards each of the past three seasons. He made two of his four career Pro Bowls in that stretch.

The Lions earned the top seed in the NFC at 15-2 before getting stunned by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in a divisional playoff game on Saturday. Detroit led the league in points per game and finished second in yards passing and total yards per game during the regular season.

The Bears fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 and replaced him on an interim basis with Thomas Brown. Chicago finished last in the NFC North at 5-12 and lost 10 in a row before closing the season with a win at Green Bay.

The development of Williams will be the top priority for Johnson in the wake of the Bears’ fourth straight losing season. The No. 1 pick in last year’s draft threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. But he was sacked a franchise-record and league-leading 68 times.

Johnson has a fan in Williams.

“I think it’s been really cool to watch,” Williams said two weeks ago, when the Bears cleaned out their lockers. “During our game, I would sit back and watch and try and learn something. It was fascinating to watch. He had wrinkles for counters and things like that throughout the game.”

Johnson had strong praise for Williams before the Bears faced the Lions in Week 16.

“There’s no question that this guy is talented. I remember standing on the sideline last game and you can hear the ball whistle by you," Johnson said.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson watches during warmups before an NFL football divisional playoff game against the Washington Commanders, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

"He’s got quite a fastball and has some creativity to him, can extend plays and is accurate down the field as well. Like I said, I haven’t really dove in and can tell you much more beyond that, but he’s been impressive from afar.”

The Bears confirmed interviewing 17 candidates. That list included former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who got the job in New England.

Chicago has just three playoff appearances since the 2006 team won the NFC. The Bears’ lone Super Bowl title came during the 1985 season.

Chicago has not won a postseason game since the 2010 team advanced to the conference title game under Lovie Smith. Johnson becomes their sixth head coach since then, not including Brown.

In three years under general manager Ryan Poles, the Bears are 15-36 with two double-digit losing streaks. They dropped their final 10 games in 2022 while in a teardown mode as part of a franchise-worst 14-game slide.

Chicago came into this season looking for a playoff spot after making some high-profile moves in the offseason, highlighted by Williams' arrival and a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. But after a 4-2 start, the season went off the rails.

The founding NFL franchise fired a head coach during a season for the first time when it let Eberflus go following a series of poor late-game decisions. The Bears also fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in less than a year, with Shane Waldron lasting just nine games after replacing Luke Getsy in the offseason. Brown, who began the season as passing game coordinator, took over for Waldron and then became interim coach a few weeks later.

Things got so bad that fans chanted “Sell the team!” during the final home game against Seattle — a 6-3 loss before a national audience on a Thursday night.

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