The Chicago Bears have a new head coach in Ben Johnson, whom they hope will usher in a new era of prosperity with Caleb Williams. But recent reports have disgusted fans of his former team to no end.
On Monday, at the same time as the hiring, reports emerged that the Detroit Lions' former offensive coordinator had been conceptualizing his future coaching staff during the playoffs, including eyeing former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator:
And it led to much anger among the Detroit football fanbase:
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More of it can be seen below:
"(Expletive) Ben Johnson," one raged.
"This is why coaching interviews should be held after the playoffs," another demanded.
"Should have been focused on winning a championship," another rued.
Will hiring Ben Johnson as HC lead to success for the Bears?
The last time the Bears were legitimate title contenders, it was with the defensive-minded Lovie Smith at the helm. And even then, they did not have the best quarterback situation, overseeing a competition between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton before settling for Jay Cutler after his feud with the Denver Broncos' coaches and executives.
The period since Smith's firing have been similarly middling. Outside of a surprise 12-4 record and divisional title in 2018 that ended with the "Double Doink" against the Eagles in the Wild Card round and an 8-8 surprise two years later, the franchise has struggled for relevance. However, Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr believes that Ben Johnson's arrival from a divisional rival like the Lions will eliminate such negativity:
"He chose a solid roster, the quarterback with the highest upside, arguably the best offensive line and a division that he is intimately familiar with. For the Bears, this should be considered an absolute win with no qualifications."
He continues by extolling the benefits that Caleb Williams will get from working with a head coach whose focus is his domain:
"The beauty with this hire is that we’ll find out right away... Caleb Williams was brilliant in stretches this season, but was also maddeningly adrift, both situationally and with his tendency to float away from plays. Chicago did not have a 1,000-yard rushe ror receiver, despite having Keenan Allen, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze."
The franchise holds the upcoming Draft's No. 10 overall pick, which general manager Ryan Poles is expected to use on the offensive line.
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