courtney cronin
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — In between conducting 17 interviews over the past two weeks to find the Chicago Bears’ next head coach, Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren. I found time for a brief respite at my favorite hangout.
While dining at the Old Pueblo Cantina in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Warren was sent a drink with a note that set out the directives that many Bears fans wanted the team to carry out. Ta.
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The memo said, “Please hire Ben (Johnson).”
Warren laughed and clutched the paper. On Wednesday, as the Bears prepared to introduce Johnson, the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, as their next head coach, Warren pulled a note from a drawer and reread it.
“I’m going to give it to Ben, and hopefully, if we do what we’re supposed to do, one day that note will be framed on someone’s wall,” Warren said. .
Johnson, 38, was named the 19th head coach in the Bears’ 105-year history and comes to Chicago after building a top-five scoring offense in each of his three seasons as Lions OC.
It was my girlfriend and I and he was kind enough to send 2 shots back for us. pic.twitter.com/RVuuWp8N7Z
— Jerry (@steiner1111) January 22, 2025
This, combined with quarterback Jared Goff’s success with Johnson as a play-caller and Detroit’s stature as the No. 1 seed in the NFC, makes Johnson one of the top candidates for his first head coaching job. Ta.
Johnson interviewed with the Bears, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders. He agreed to take the Chicago job less than 48 hours after Detroit lost in the divisional round of the playoffs last Saturday.
For general manager Ryan Pauls and Warren, acquiring the team’s top candidate for the next head coach is extremely important, and the Bears have a lot to do with acquiring one of the most popular candidates in the league. I knew I needed to cut it.
“I’m fiscally conservative, but I’m also aggressive and believe in being creative,” Warren said. “I also believe that you get what you pay for, and in this situation we needed to make sure we got the No. 1 candidate.
“And it’s not about the No. 1 candidate. It’s about the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 candidate. All the other financial issues, they’re about us being smart with money and making good decisions. When things go well, no one talks about finances. We have a world-class head coach. It’s up to us. ”
Johnson had one virtual interview with the Bears on Jan. 11 during Detroit’s first-round bye.
As the Bears looked to strengthen their case for Johnson, the former offensive coordinator also revealed how much he wanted to be hired in Chicago.
“The first words out of his mouth were, ‘I want this job,'” said Chairman George McCaskey. “The last thing he said before he turned off the camera was, ‘Did you tell me you wanted this job?'” I was particularly shocked, but he said it in the comments. You mentioned, this is the toughest division in football and he wants to play here against (Lions coach Dan) Campbell, (Packers coach Matt) LaFleur and him. (Vikings coach Kevin) O’Connell wants to succeed in the toughest environment possible and that really impressed me. ”
