Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is about to be introduced as the brand new Chicago Bears head coach, in response to a number of studies.
Johnson was one in all at the least 17 candidates for the position and can take over a Bears staff that completed backside of the NFC North this season, regardless of profitable 4 of their first six video games.
Chicago (5-12) misplaced 10 straight after its promising begin, together with a 23-20 defeat at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day that led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus on November 29 and noticed Thomas Brown turn into interim coach for the rest of the season.
Johnson spent three seasons as Detroit’s offensive coordinator beneath Dan Campbell and helped flip Jared Goff into one of many NFL’s finest quarterbacks, with the 38-year-old broadly thought of the highest head-coaching candidate in the marketplace.
The Bears confirmed interviewing 17 candidates. That listing included former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, former Inexperienced Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who received the job as head coach of the New England Patriots.
Johnson set for Bears problem
The Lions earned the highest seed within the NFC at 15-2 earlier than getting surprised by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in a divisional playoff recreation on Saturday. Detroit led the league in factors per recreation and completed second in yards passing and complete yards per recreation in the course of the common season.
The event of quarterback Caleb Williams would be the high precedence for Johnson within the wake of the Bears’ fourth straight shedding season. The No 1 decide in final 12 months’s draft threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. However he was sacked a franchise-record and league-leading 68 instances.
Johnson had sturdy reward for Williams earlier than the Lions confronted the Bears in Week 16, saying: “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.
“He is received fairly a fastball and has some creativity to him, can lengthen performs and is correct down the sphere as properly. Like I stated, I have never actually dove in and might let you know far more past that, however he is been spectacular from afar.”
Chicago has simply three playoff appearances for the reason that 2006 staff gained the NFC, whereas their lone Tremendous Bowl title got here in the course of the 1985 season. The Bears haven’t gained a postseason recreation for the reason that 2010 staff superior to the convention title recreation beneath Lovie Smith.
The Bears got here into this season in search of a playoff spot after making some high-profile strikes within the offseason, highlighted by Williams’ arrival and a blockbuster commerce with the Los Angeles Chargers for six-time Professional Bowl receiver Keenan Allen.
Their season went off the rails after a 4-2 begin, main them to fireside a head coach throughout a season for the primary time after they eliminated Eberflus following a sequence of poor late-game selections. Additionally they fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in lower than a 12 months, with Shane Waldron lasting simply 9 video games after changing Luke Getsy.
Brown, who started the season as passing recreation coordinator, took over for Waldron after which grew to become interim coach a couple of weeks later. His solely win as head coach got here in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers within the last match of the common season.
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