The Chicago Bears have found their guy. Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now the head coach of the Bears as a deal was finalized on Monday. Johnson and the Lions were the one seed in the NFC and playing for a spot in the NFC title game just two days ago, but they came up short against the Washington Commanders. The Lions had a bye during the first round of the playoffs, and Johnson participated in some head coaching interviews. Now, he is teaming up with quarterback Caleb Williams in the Windy City.
Ben Johnson has been arguably the best coordinator in the NFL for multiple years now, so because of that, there were a lot of teams that wanted to hire him to be their head coach this offseason. Johnson likely had multiple options to choose from, and he ended up with the Bears.
The Bears were an attractive option for Johnson because of all the young talent that they have on offense, led by Caleb Williams. Williams just finished up his rookie season, and he played pretty well throughout the year. The Bears definitely didn't have the season that they were hoping for, but the potential is there with their young talent.
Johnson was obviously great at his job in Detroit, but the amount of weapons that he had on that team definitely took some of the pressure off of his shoulders. The Bears clearly don't have that kind of talent, but there is still a lot to work with there, and Johnson should be able to develop a talented offense in Chicago.
The offense definitely has hopes, but Johnson isn't just an offensive coordinator now. He is the head coach, and the Bears have a lot of problems that need fixing. It's going to be interesting to see how Johnson ends up addressing these issues.
Johnson was great as a coordinator in Detroit, but there isn't a guarantee that he will be able to do the same as a head coach. At the end of the day, Johnson has zero experience as a head coach in the NFL, so you never know what will happen. Here are three predictions for his first year in Chicago.
The Bears will win more than five games in Ben Johnson's first year
The Bears are going to improve under Ben Johnson in his first season in Chicago. This team only won five games this season, but they were right there in a lot of their losses. If a few plays go their way, this team probably finishes with seven or eight wins instead of five. That wouldn't be good enough for the playoffs, but it would still be better. It's going to take a while to fully rebuild this team, but they will show improvements in one year under Johnson and they will end up with more than five wins.
The Bears will not make the playoffs

Making the playoffs is what every Bears fan wants obviously, but they can't get too far ahead of themselves. Throughout the season, this fan base has been calling for Ben Johnson to be the next head coach of the team, and they got their wish. A fan base that feels like the team never does what they want finally got their wish. However, it's going to take more than one offseason for Johnson to fix everything. He is taking over a team that finished in last place in the division, and he has never been a head coach before. It's going to take a little bit of time, and that's okay.
The Bears will finish in last place in the NFC North in Ben Johnson's first year
This obviously isn't what any Bears fan wants to see next year, but it wouldn't be surprising at all if it happens. The NFC North was the best division is football this year, and the Bears went 1-5 against the competition. The other three teams all have established head coaches that are among the best in the league, and they all should have a lot of talent once again next year. It's going to take Ben Johnson a little bit of time to play catch up with the rest of the division. If this prediction does end up being correct, it's not the end of the world.
Seeing Ben Johnson with the Bears is going to be interesting, especially when they go up against the Lions two times every year. He helped build something special in Detroit, and he has now left for a division rival. Who knows how it will go as the lack of head coaching experience is definitely something to consider, but there's no doubt about it, this hire is going to make Bears fans happy throughout the offseason. We'll see if it has the same effects when the actual season rolls around. That's what really matters.