Bears to hire Lions OC Johnson as new coach

CHICAGO — Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has agreed to a deal to become the Chicago Bears‘ next head coach, Priority Sports, the agency that represents him, announced on social media Monday.

Johnson, who has been the Lions’ offensive coordinator the past three seasons, will fill the job vacated by Matt Eberflus when he was fired on Nov. 29. Johnson will be the 19th head coach in the franchise’s 105-year existence.

Johnson, 38, was available to be hired after the Lions — the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs — were stunned on Saturday night by the Washington Commanders.

A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Johnson is already working on assembling his staff, with former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen the leading candidate be hired as Chicago’s defensive coordinator. The Bears are also heavily pursuing Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi to be their special teams coordinator, sources told Schefter.

The Bears conducted a virtual interview with Johnson on Jan. 11 during the Lions’ first-round bye. He also interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots.

Chicago interviewed 17 candidates for its head coach vacancy; three of the interviews were conducted in person with former Commanders/Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera, former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and current Tennessee State coach Eddie George.

“We’re going to cast a wide net,” general manager Ryan Poles said on Jan. 7. “It’s going to be a diverse group. This will be different backgrounds from offense, defense, special teams, college, pro. We’re turning every stone to make sure we’re doing this the right way … There’s going to be some names that you don’t expect that are going to surprise you because we’re digging deeper than we ever have before.”

The Bears were in compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule after the completion of George’s interview on Sunday.

Johnson rebuffed interest from teams the past few years but now will take over in Chicago to coach quarterback Caleb Williams, who said earlier this month that he was intrigued by Johnson’s offense with the Lions.

“I think during our game, I would sit back and watch and try and learn something while I watch,” Williams said. “It was fascinating to watch because he always had wrinkles for counters and things like that throughout the game. I think he’s obviously done really well, so it’d be cool to see how that all goes down.”

Ahead of the Bears’ 34-17 loss to Detroit in December, Johnson offered similar praise over what he’d seen from Williams. In two games against the Lions, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft threw for 681 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.

Johnson, known for his innovative playcalling, has coached the Lions to top-10 offenses the past two seasons, including second overall and No. 1 in points scored when they finished this season 15-2. Detroit’s 28.2 offensive points per game from 2022 to 2024 during Johnson’s span as offensive coordinator was the highest in the NFL. The Lions averaged at least 26 points per game in each of Johnson’s three seasons as offensive coordinator, whereas the Bears have had four such seasons in the entire Super Bowl era (1985, 2006, 2013 and 2018).

The Bears finished 5-12 this season, last in the NFC North standings. Since George Halas retired following the 1967 season, only one of the past 12 Bears full-time coaches has had a winning record in his first season when Matt Nagy led Chicago to an NFC North title and 12-4 finish in 2018.

Johnson will be tasked with elevating Williams the way he did Jared Goff in Detroit. Goff had a 46 Total QBR the season before Johnson took over as offensive coordinator in 2022. That improved to 63 in Johnson’s first season as OC, largely due to limiting the amount of sacks Goff took (his sack percentage decreased by 3% from 2021 to 2022) and getting easier throws with play action.

Williams’ QBR was 47 during his rookie season (28th in NFL) and he was sacked a league-high 68 times.

The Bears’ offense can stand to benefit from the creativity Johnson displayed in Detroit. The Lions ranked No. 1 in play-action usage last season (36%) while Chicago ranked 30th. Detroit used pre-snap motion at the fifth-highest rate, whereas the Bears ranked 19th.

Johnson inherits a Bears team that owns the No. 10 pick (as well as four selections in the top 72) and a projected $74.8 million in salary cap space (fourth most). Three of Chicago’s primary starters on the offensive line — Coleman Shelton, Matt Pryor and Teven Jenkins — are pending free agents, as is wide receiver Keenan Allen.