The Bears have reportedly finalized a deal to hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as head coach

Ben Johnson has been on the list of just about every NFL team that had a head coaching vacancy recently. Finally, Johnson makes his move.

The Chicago Bears are closing in on a deal to hire Johnson as their next head coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. According to the report, Johnson is targeting former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator.

This is big news for Caleb Williams. The first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft had an up-and-down rookie season with a coaching staff that was in over its head. Matt Eberflus was fired after a bad Thanksgiving loss to the Lions, paving the way to land Johnson, a hot name in NFL circles the past few years. Williams displayed the talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and now with Johnson bringing his offensive acumen to Chicago, he has a much better chance for success going forward.

The Bears were able to hire Johnson after the Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round. Other teams, most notably the Las Vegas Raiders, were also interested in signing Johnson, so the Bears had to act quickly. They ended up landing Johnson less than 48 hours after the Lions season ended.

Johnson, 38 years old, quickly made a name for himself as he worked his way up the NFL coaching ladder. He spent seven seasons on the Miami Dolphins’ staff (Dan Campbell was part of that staff when Johnson was there) and then moved to the Lions. In Detroit, he worked his way up from offensive quality control coach to tight ends coach to passing coordinator to offensive coordinator over the course of five seasons. Then, in his three seasons as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, he became the hottest name among NFL assistants as a future head coach.

Last offseason, Johnson had interviews but decided to stay with the Lions for at least one more season running their offense. Detroit scored 564 points this season, which led the NFL, and the Lions earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 15-2 record in the regular season. Johnson was a popular name again in the head-coaching interview cycle. Chicago had to look at the stats Jared Goff put up with Johnson calling plays and expect him to do the same with Williams and a talented cast of offensive players with skills like receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.

Teams were looking for a Sean McVay-type hire when they wooed Johnson, hoping to land a young offensive guru who hadn’t yet had a chance to become a head coach. His work with the Lions, getting great production out of Goff with a balanced offense that was dominant in the passing and running game, was impressive. Johnson had to like what he saw of Williams to take the Bears job as he had several suitors.

Of course, whether Johnson can make a successful transition to being a head coach remains to be seen. But Johnson will get his chance to make an even bigger name for himself. The Bears hope Johnson’s legacy ends up being how he got greatness out of Williams.