Windy City Gridiron
On Wednesday afternoon, Ben Johnson was introduced as the Bears’ 19th head coach in franchise history. Unlike his predecessors, he was able to leave a lasting first impression. With another monumental offseason quickly approaching, getting down to business will be the next step in getting the ship righted.
On Wednesday morning, general manager Ryan Poles introduced Ben Johnson as the 19th head coach in franchise history. For the better part of three decades, the Chicago Bears have been a mess. Their lone run of sustainable success came on the shoulders of Lovie Smith, who also happened to be a first-time head coach. Since firing Smith following the 2012 season, the Bears have experienced just one winning season while rifling through three general managers and five head coaches.
With their former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback ready to take the next step forward, the only logical decision during this process was to bring in the best candidate who could help Caleb Williams become a Top-Tier quarterback. Only time will tell whether or not that will happen, but for now, Bears fans should be glowing after Johnson’s introductory press conference and what the future could bring. We’ll dive into all that and more in another installment of Bears Takes.
1. The Chicago Bears Got Their Guy.
Johnson’s name has long been a hot topic in the city of Chicago. After Anthony Lynn failed in Detroit, Lions head coach Dan Campbell promoted an offensive mind inherited from the previous coaching staff. It took a leap of faith but was quickly rewarded. Quarterback Jared Goff promptly went from a “throw-in” to a Top 10 quarterback. An organization that had long been the league’s laughing stock became one of the more feared teams in the league. That was in large part due to what Detroit was able to accomplish on offense. All of that was under the guidance of the Bears’ new head coach.
For years, the apparent move has rarely been the choice that Chicago’s leadership has decided on in some ways, that ended last April when the team opted to trade quarterback Justin Fields and lock in on Williams. Despite any amount of revisionist history after their rookie seasons, Williams was the clear favorite as the top quarterback in the class over Jayden Daniels.
Unfortunately for Williams and this fan base, the organization also chose to stay in the status quo regarding their head coach. Despite amassing a paltry amount of wins over his first two seasons in Chicago, Matt Eberflus was given a third season with a rookie quarterback. Despite their (4-2) start, it became apparent that Eberflus was way over his head. As their losing streak mounted, so did the frustrations within the Bears organization. After severely mismanaging the game’s final drive against the Lions on Thanksgiving morning, Eberflus became the first head coach in franchise history to be fired in-season.
Despite the six-week head start, the team’s search committee compiled a list of over 20 candidates. The team reported...
