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As one of the biggest pieces of news to drop in the Chicagoland area, the Chicago Bears reportedly hired Ben Johnson for their head-coaching vacancy after three seasons of being the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. And while the Bears had a laundry list of interviews on their plate, they apparently never even brought him into Halas Hall before the hire, per Ari Meirov on X.
“You don’t often see this in the NFL coaching cycle: The #Bears are hiring Ben Johnson without even having an official in-person interview,” Meirov wrote. “A virtual meeting and backchannel conversations with those close to Johnson was enough — and they sealed the deal today. Johnson is now set to fly to Chicago to meet everyone and sign his contract.”
As Meirov wrote in his post, it's not a move seen very often in the NFL, but the Bears felt comfortable enough bringing in Johnson without requiring him to interview in person.
Now, Johnson was reportedly interested in the job in the 2023-24 coaching cycle, but the Bears retained Matt Eberflus. However, the Bears fired Eberflus after their Thanksgiving disaster against the Lions, leaving the door open for Johnson if he wanted the job this year.
And even though the Bears were interviewing nearly everyone under the sun with a pulse, they eventually hired the top candidate without even requiring him to step foot in Halas Hall.
Given all the technological advancements nowadays, the virtual interview process seems relatively simple to conduct. Sure, bringing Johnson into the building gives a better understanding of who he might be and his different quirks. But given his resume as an offensive play-caller, it's not too shocking to see the Bears just hire him as soon as they could.
As a three-year play-caller for one of the best offenses in the NFL, there wasn't much convincing needed from Johnson to the Bears. The hurdle always appeared to be how well the Bears could sell the job to Johnson.
With how inept the front office has been in Chicago over the years, there was no guarantee Johnson would want to pair himself with a franchise like the Bears.
However, after a virtual meeting on Jan. 11 and talking to those close to Johnson, both sides agreed to make him the Bears' next head coach.
