After the Washington Commanders eliminated the Detroit Lions from the playoffs in the divisional round, the Chicago Bears became the week's biggest winners. Throughout their offseason—as a team that didn't make the playoffs—the Bears and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been a pairing that many believed could happen. And on Monday afternoon, the two sides seemingly have a deal in place, per Adam Schefter on X.

“Bear down: Chicago is finalizing a deal to hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as its next head coach, sources tell ESPN,” Schefter wrote. “Bears are getting their man.”

While names like Mike McCarthy, Pete Carroll, and even Eddie George were on the list of candidates, the Bears hired their offensive-minded head coach.

Once Johnson passed on a head coaching job in 2023 to run it back with the Lions again, he was undoubtedly on the Bears' radar.

Then, once the Bears fired Matt Eberflus midseason following the Thanksgiving blunder — which Johnson even had a front-row seat to — Chicago's main objective was to get a young, offensive-minded coach to help develop their prized possession: Caleb Williams.  

Although the Bears have tried running with defensive-minded “leaders of men” in the past, the tide has turned, as Johnson is taking the next step in his coaching career.

Now, there isn't a full guarantee that Johnson is the next best head coach in the entire NFL. However, for a team with as talented of a quarterback and as many weapons as the Bears have, the sky is the limit with this hire.

In fact, it's a home run hit, and although some see a similarity to when the Bears hired Matt Nagy as their head coach, the two almost couldn't be more different.

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Nagy was the offensive coordinator for one season under Andy Reid. However, Reid is a play-calling head coach, making Nagy's role less demanding than that of other offensive coordinators across the league.

With Johnson, he's been the true play-caller for the Lions since 2022, giving him three seasons of play-calling experience before nabbing the Bears' head coaching job.

Also, Johnson's offenses have been among the league's best each season under him.

2022: 26.6 points per game (5th); 380.0 yards per game (4th)
2023: 27.1 points per game (5th); 394.8 yards per game (3rd)
2024: 33.2 points per game (1st); 424.9 yards per game (2nd)

So, following a less-than-ideal playoff run for the Lions, the Bears steal their offensive coordinator, making him Chicago's next head coach.