Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson agreed to become the next head coach of the Chicago Bears on Monday. Johnson spent six seasons with the Lions in multiple roles but rose to prominence in 2022 when he became the team’s offensive coordinator.
The 38-year-old helped revive quarterback Jared Goff’s career and has been the mastermind behind Detroit’s dynamic offenses over the last few seasons. Johnson will head to Chicago to coach 2023 No.1 overall Caleb Williams and a Bears team that has posted four consecutive losing campaigns.
The Bears finalized the deal with Johnson to become their next head coach on Tuesday, and the former North Carolina quarterback arrived in Chicago to a massive welcome party.
In the video from the Bears’ social media team, Johnson and his family are showered with applause from employees within the organization. The former Lions coach threw in a sarcastic joke before expressing his excitement and gratitude for being in Chicago.
🗣️ “This is exactly where we wanted to be.” pic.twitter.com/mT56UoVGdl
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 21, 2025
“Thank you so much,” Johnson said in a video posted on the team’s social media pages on Tuesday. “My family and I are beyond excited. This is exactly where we want to be.”
Johnson also acknowledged that rebuilding the Bears back into relevancy will be a challenge.
“This is going to be a challenge,” Johnson said. “I’m well aware of that. I know what this division’s about. We’re going to go after this thing, and it’s going to take all of us in this room. It’s going to take this locker room. It’s nothing more important than that locker and us serving that locker room and those players. They need to feel that from us every single day. And if we do that, the wins are going to come. The playoffs are going to come.”
Johnson is more than qualified to be a head coach, and the Lions will miss his presence on the sideline and creative offensive mind. Replacing the new Chicago Bears head coach will be a tall task for Dan Campbell.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Lions in danger of losing key assistant coach and possible OC replacement
Lions predicted to pull off blockbuster trade for $80 million former All-Pro
Lions DC Aaron Glenn predicted to land dysfunctional team’s head coach job
