The Chicago Bears have pledged to cast a wide net in their head coach search, and it stands to reason the franchise’s most attractive asset, quarterback Caleb Williams, could lead them to an offensive mind.
A prospect with a defensive background likely would have to blow the Bears away with a detailed plan centered around Williams to guide the organization back to relevance. One bright possibility certain to garner the attention of the Bears and other teams searching for their next hire in the upcoming hiring cycle will be on the opposite sideline Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field — Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Johnson, 38, is at the controls of the NFL’s most dynamic offense, and after interviewing with seven teams over the past two years, it’s possible he will have his choice of opportunities this time. In January, Johnson pulled out of interviews with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders after the Lions lost in the NFC championship game, and in 2023 he declined an in-person interview with the Carolina Panthers when he was reportedly the front-runner.
“I give him a lot of credit,” said a high-placed source with a team that interviewed Johnson for a head coaching position. “Ben was good. He was aware enough to say, ‘You know what, I think we have a good thing going here. I’m not quite ready. Let me just wait and take my time to be ready for the job when I get it.’ He’s got some emotional intelligence.”
The injury-ravaged Lions are 32-9 over their last 41 regular-season games, and Johnson’s calculated approach, something those who know him well say permeates everything he does, only has strengthened his resume.
The Lions (12-2) are a juggernaut on offense, ranking fist in in scoring at 32.8 points per game, second in yards, sixth in rushing, second in passing, fifth on third down and second in the red zone.
And they are far and away the leader in creativity.
The Lions set right tackle Penei Sewell up to throw a pass against the Bears, although it didn’t work. Swing tackle Dan Skipper caught a touchdown pass in last week’s barnburner against the Buffalo Bills. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has thrown a touchdown pass. Hook-and-ladders are a regular staple in the playbook. If you can imagine it, Johnson probably has drawn it up already.
While Johnson was new to the interview cycle in 2023, he was considered red-hot in January before withdrawing from consideration by the Seahawks and Commanders.
“There’s a lot of things that go into it, a lot of reasons and dynamics that play a part,” Johnson told Detroit media in January. “Something that really resonates with me is, OK, eight openings this past year. What would you set the over/under (at) in three years? How many still have jobs? I’d put the over/under at 4½. I’d say there’s a good chance five of them are out of jobs in three years, you know? And so when I look at it from that perspective, if I get the opportunity to go down that road, it’s about how do I get to that second contract? How do I set myself up?
“The stars need to align. I’m not going to do it just to do it. I love what I’m doing right now. Love it. I love where I’m at. My family loves where we’re at. Love the people that we’re doing it with. So I’m not willing to go down the other path yet, unless I feel really good about how it’s going to unfold.”
How Johnson views the Bears’ opening is unknown. He’ll surely want to perform his due diligence on the inner workings at Halas Hall and the roster when the time is appropriate. It would be surprising if his name wasn’t prominent on the list President/CEO Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles are building.
“Last couple of years, getting thrown in the coordinator role, things get on you fast and you don’t really have time to think about the future a whole lot,” Johnson said Thursday in his weekly news conference. “Now that I’ve been through the ringer a couple of times, had some interviews, I certainly do feel more prepared just from a big-picture standpoint.
“But right now, we’ve got three games left in the regular season, going into the postseason, and honestly this is why I’m here. This is why I wanted to be here. I have an obligation to the people in the building to be right where my feet are and when I walk in and I see the coaches staying long nights and working as hard as they’re doing, and I come in and I see the guys, the players, in the meeting room and on the practice field, attacking each day like they are, it’s hard for my mind to wander much.”
‘Uncommonly bright’
At A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C., Johnson helped guide the Rockets to a 4A state title as a junior in 2002 and was all-conference his final two seasons. He didn’t receive any scholarship offers, so he walked on at North Carolina and competed to become the No. 3 quarterback.
“We thought that because he was so intelligent, his test scores were unbelievable, he would be a doctor, an attorney or a scientist,” former Reynolds coach Steve McCurry said. “The Lions have got some offensive weapons, but he’s so organized and he seems to have an uncanny ability to make right call at the right time. It’s unreal. His imagination knows no boundaries. If I knew what I know now, I would have let Ben call plays.”
With the Tar Heels, Johnson learned under former Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop and quickly became the guy entrusted with signaling in the plays to starter T.J. Yates. Johnson had a complete mastery of the North Carolina system and was almost another assistant coach
“Just uncommonly bright,” said Shoop of Johnson, who graduated from North Carolina with degrees in mathematics and computer science. “Ben is very intelligent but also has the interpersonal skill to match that. He was the conduit between me and T.J. He gets the sophistication of football.
“Kind of like I have, I think Ben sees coaching as a noble profession. You are helping people become the best they can be. The other thing I will say about Ben, I think this is important, he’s seen fire and he’s seen rain in this business. And everything he’s gotten in this profession, he’s earned. He has worked his way up in this profession, and guys like that I really admire.”
‘This guy is different — in a good way’
Johnson became a graduate assistant at Boston College in 2009, so Poles, who played there, likely has connections to Johnson dating that far. In 2011, Johnson was elevated to tight ends coach and in 2012 he broke into the NFL as a quality control assistant for the Miami Dolphins under Joe Philbin on a staff that included tight ends coach Dan Campbell, now the head coach in Detroit, and assistant quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor, the Cincinnati Bengals coach.
Charlie Bullen, the outside linebackers coach for the New York Giants and a Fremd graduate, interviewed on the same day Johnson did in Miami. They were hired at the same time and lived together when they were new to the Dolphins.
Bullen was the quality control coach on defense, and they grew into their roles at the same time with both being retained by Adam Gase when he was hired as head coach in 2016.
“Ben is brilliant,” Bullen said. “He’s very, very freaking smart and his work ethic, drive and passion are next to nobody’s. The dude is going to grind. That’s what has elevated him. At the core, underneath everything, is the intelligence and just drive and work ethic.”
Gase had a list of young coaches he wanted to bring to Miami but didn’t get all of the way through it because everyone he encountered in the building vouched for Johnson and Bullen. Johnson, who was the assistant quarterbacks coach for two seasons under Philbin before working with Campbell in the tight ends room, got to stay as an assistant wide receivers coach.
“They kept telling me Ben could coach any position,” Gase said. “Hadn’t done O-line yet but they were like former quarterback, he could do quarterbacks, he could do wideouts, he could do tight ends, running backs, all that stuff. Once we got going, especially when we got on the field, I was like, ‘Man, this guy is different — in a good way.’
“He’s super smart. He’s awesome with the players. He’s a really good teacher. He was really good on the field. I am talking hands-on. He would be that guy when you saw him after practice, you might have thought he practiced he was sweating so much. He worked that hard.”
In dividing the workload, Gase found Johnson was an assistant he could lean on each week. Sometimes it would be red zone, others two-minute or third down. Johnson’s job was to assess the opponent and help detail a plan.
“Whatever it was, it wasn’t hard for him,” Gase said. “Instead of being the guy who is going to be a super genius and create a bunch of new stuff, Ben started out the right way by being like, ‘Here’s your offense, here’s the all ideas from that and maybe here’s my two new things that might work.’ The majority of time I would use them because, you know, they were good.”
After two seasons as the assistant to Shawn Jefferson with wide receivers, Gase put Johnson in charge of the position with Jefferson getting an assistant head coach title. In seven seasons with the Dolphins, Johnson also spent time with Al Saunders, Mike Sherman, Clyde Christensen and Taylor, all coaches with long histories of offensive success.
“He was just a sponge,” Bullen said. “And learned from all of them.”
‘A great offensive mind’
Johnson was out of work for the first time when Gase’s staff was fired following 2018 and didn’t land a job until the start of the 2019 season as a quality control assistant under Matt Patricia in Detroit, taking a step back to stay in the game.
That tells you a little something about what motivates Johnson because quality-control jobs can best be described with two words — grunt work.
“Ben just took the opportunity, put his head down and ran,” Bullen said. “The dude just wants to get good, work, be competitive. He just did what he does and rose to the top. That’s a testament to his resilience.”
Patricia put Johnson in charge of tight ends the following season, and when Campbell was hired in 2021, once again Johnson was a holdover, having established a relationship with the new coach when they were together under Philbin. He remained in the tight ends room, where the Lions had 2019 first-round draft pick T.J. Hockenson.
“I met with him a lot as a rookie and then he was elevated to tight ends coach and we’ve been really close,” said Hockenson, now with the Minnesota Vikings. “He’s kind of a wizard. He’s taken stuff from a lot of different places and he is just very creative. He does a lot of cool, unique things and you’ve seen what he’s been able to do in this league. I love Ben. He grew like a brother to me.”
The Lions offense struggled mightily out of the gate, and Campbell demoted offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn following an 0-8 start. Campbell took over play calling but leaned heavily on Johnson, who was elevated to passing game coordinator in season.
The results were almost immediate for quarterback Jared Goff, whom the Lions had acquired in the trade with the Los Angeles Rams for Matthew Stafford. Goff’s play suddenly turned around, and the Lions scored nearly five points more per game over the second half of the season.
“Anthony had a very complex system that just didn’t mesh with what Jared was good at,” said Bears long snapper Scott Daly, who was with the Lions at the time. “And Ben came in midseason with Dan to take over the play calling and he’s very much, ‘I’m going to adapt to who we have, their strengths.’ Things just changed to where he was able to figure out Jared, how are we going to maximize this and get the ball out and spread it around. Even during that season when we didn’t have a ton of guys and weapons, we were able to make a big difference. Now that they’ve added a lot of talent and weapons, he’s definitely made a difference for them.”
Said Bears running back D’Andre Swift, who was in Detroit from 2020-22: “Him and JG (Goff) had a great relationship. He made it simple for the guys and put them in position to go ahead and play free and showcase their talents. Everybody in the league can see the way they play over there. He is a great offensive mind.”
Campbell promoted Johnson to offensive coordinator after the 2021 season, and the offense has been on a meteoric rise since then. General manager Brad Holmes added skill-position talent all over the place, and the Lions have a top-notch line and Goff, who many originally thought they were taking from the Rams just to get draft capital — two first-round picks and a third in the Stafford deal.
“Dan recognized he had some talent to hire him, and I am sure he took some criticism for it, but it was the right move,” said the front-office source who interviewed Johnson. “Everybody kind of laughed when they traded Stafford. Well, turns out Goff can still play, and they recognized it and stuck with him.”
‘There’s a fire there’
It will be fascinating to watch what Johnson deems as the right move after the season. He’s expected to be particular in the interviews he will consider. When Johnson says the “stars need to align,” the football chain needs to align, too, and he’s going to need a clear vision of whatever opportunities are being offered.
The Bears will need to sell more than the opportunity to lure Williams. If Johnson believes a foundation for the offense needs to be set in the trenches — it has been in Detroit — Poles might need to detail a plan to overhaul that room to match Johnson’s vision.
Those who have worked with Johnson all highlight his intelligence, but everyone is quick to say he doesn’t give off the “smartest guy in the room” vibe that can be a turnoff. Players respond to him. Coaches trust him — Campbell calls him a “rock star.” Johnson finds ways to connect on all levels.
Johnson didn’t coach Daly directly, but long snappers — like former Bear Pat Mannelly — are intuitive and pick up on everything that’s happening in the building and on the field.
“Ben never did the same thing twice,” Daly said. “He kept guys on their toes every week, not being redundant so guys were not becoming complacent. Guys were getting fresh challenges, and he gave them things they could improve on and grow from. He did a job of delivering a fresh perspective every week and he always had a lot of plays in his back pocket that kept defenses on their heels. He commands the respect but also gives it back to guys.”
Shoop can speak to the challenges of coaching in Chicago with experience. He and Ron Turner are the only offensive coordinators since 2000 to last for more than two seasons. He knows what makes the market unique.
“What I’ll say about that I will probably keep between Ben and I,” Shoop said. “But I’ll say this: It was some of the greatest years of my life. I absolutely loved it, and Chicago, when you’re coaching for the Bears, you experience every single emotion there is. And Ben is wired right and he has the foundation to really be able to handle that. He is grounded in something a little deeper than just wins and losses and I think he’s got the wherewithal to handle all that goes with that in a big city. It’s full throttle. He knows that.”
Johnson has a perfect job with the Lions, who are gunning for the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC and are attempting to win the division in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. They’re chasing what would be the organization’s first Lombardi Trophy even as injuries have thinned the defense. He’s going to have interest, possibly from the Bears, and will have to evaluate again if the right job is out there for him because, yes, he does want to become a head coach.
“I think there’s a burning desire in every man to find what he’s made out of, push the limits and see if he’s got what it takes,” Johnson said. “So, yeah, there’s a fire there. Now, when that time is, I don’t know when that’ll be, but there’s certainly a fire there.”
