The Chicago Bears have lost their last two games and are 4-4 heading into Week 10. Their offense has scored a combined total of 24 points in the two losses, and people have started raising questions about Matt Eberflus’ future as the team’s head coach.
Eberflus is into his third year as the Bears’ head coach and has a disappointing record of 14-28. Nick Wright recently talked about his situation and urged the franchise to replace Eberflus with a star coach from the same division.
Nick Wright Wants Bears To Break the Bank for Ben Johnson
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is among the most coveted coaches in the NFL when it comes to the head coaching position. He was close to accepting the Washington Commanders job last offseason but chose to continue in Detroit.
He will likely be available in the next coaching cycle. In a conversation on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Wright said that the Bears should go all out to get Johnson from the Lions.
“If I’m the Chicago Bears, if I’m Ryan Poles, I go to the McCaskeys [team owners] and say, ‘Hey, I know this isn’t really our history but one time can we have a blank check for a head coach and can we get better while weakening the team to beat in our division? Let’s go get Ben Johnson. Let’s hurt Jared Goff and the Lions. Let’s give Caleb a guy to pair with him for a decade,'” said Wright.
“It’s risky because he’s a first-time head coach, but the veteran head coaches out there, Mike Vrabel, Bill Belichick, are defense guys… You want to weaken the Lions. You want to make yourself better… I still think Caleb’s going to be a superstar you got to pair him with an offensive coach.”
The Bears have a roster good enough to compete, and with a good coach, they can go toe-to-toe with the elite teams in their conference. Eberflus has been unable to bring the best out of Caleb Williams, and the offense, despite having star players across the field, has lacked consistency.
Eberflus is unlikely to return as the Bears’ head coach after this season if the second half of the season is plagued by volatility.
A Look at Ben Johnson’s Coaching Career
Johnson has been the Lions’ offensive coordinator since 2022. Here are the Lions’ points per game average in each of the three seasons since then:
- 2022 – 26.6 [Fifth in the league]
- 2023 – 27.1 [Fifth in the league]
- 2024 (Eight games) – 32.3 [Best in the league]
Prior to being the Lions’ OC, Johnson was their tight ends coach for two seasons and the offense quality control coach in 2019. He worked for the Dolphins from 2012-2018, serving as their wide receivers coach, assistant tight end/quarterback coach, and offensive assistant.
Johnson has been a part of the NFL for more than 12 years, and he is more than ready to become a head coach. There is no denying that first-time head coaches are risky hires, especially when they will cost as much as Johnson, but even veteran head coaches are not guaranteed to succeed.
The Bears have a roster full of talented players on both sides of the ball, and the team’s front office should not waste the years they have while Williams is still on his rookie deal. Taking a chance with Johnson is the best possible idea for the Bears, as he will bring the best out of Williams. At the same time, the Lions’ offense will definitely regress without him, which will further help Chicago in competing.