Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is set to be announced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports.
Johnson was one of at least 17 candidates for the role and will take over a Bears team that finished at the bottom of the NFC North this season despite winning four of its first six games.
Chicago (5-12) has lost 10 straight after a promising start, including a 23-20 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day that led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 and Thomas Brown becoming interim coach until the end of the season.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will move within the NFC North to the Chicago Bears
Johnson spent three seasons as Detroit's offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell and helped develop Jared Goff into one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, and the 38-year-old is considered the best head coaching candidate on the market.
Bears confirmed by 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 landed the New England Patriots head coaching job.
Johnson is ready for the Bears challenge
The Lions went 15-2 over the top seed in the NFC before being stunned by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in a divisional playoff game on Saturday. Detroit led the league in scoring per game and finished second in passing and total yards per game during the regular season.
The development of quarterback Caleb Williams will be a top priority for Johnson after the Bears' fourth straight losing season. The first 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.
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Johnson had high praise for Williams before the Lions faced the Bears in Week 16, saying, “There's no question this guy's talented. I remember standing on the sidelines in the last game and you could hear the ball whizzing past me.
“He's got a pretty fast ball and he's got a bit of creativity to him, he can extend the game and he's accurate downfield as well. Like I said, I haven't really dived and I can tell you a lot more than that, but he's been impressive from long range.”
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Chicago has only made three playoff appearances since the team won the NFC in 2006, while their only Super Bowl title came during the 1985 season. The Bears have not won a postseason game since the team advanced to the conference title in 2010 under Lovie Smith.
The Bears entered this season chasing a playoff spot after making several high-profile moves in the offseason, highlighted by the arrival of Williams and the successful trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen.
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Speaking on the Inside the Huddle podcast, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold reflected on Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams' progress through the first weeks of the NFL season
Their season fell apart after a 4-2 start, which led to them firing a head coach for the first time during the season when they removed Eberflus after a series of bad decisions late in the game. They 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.
Brown, who started the season as the passing coordinator, took over for Waldron and then became the interim coach a few weeks later. He achieved his only victory as a head coach against the Green Bay Packers in the final game of the regular season.
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