What Chicago Bears fans need to know about Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson

The Chicago Bears' coaching search continues this weekend, and the team is expected to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Saturday.

Some Bears fans have been fixated on Johnson since long before the team fired head coach Matt Eberflus. By now, most fans are aware that he’s a prime candidate for the Bears job.

It’s easy to understand why. All one has to do is look at the Detroit Lions' offense.

Detroit has arguably the most explosive offense in the NFL. Statistically, the Lions were the No. 1 scoring team in the league. The offense was second in total yards, second in passing yards and sixth in rushing yards. The Lions did everything well.

And Johnson is the man behind that offense. Here’s what Bears fans need to know about the 38-year-old Johnson.

Johnson nearly became a head coach last year

Johnson, who grew up in the Carolinas, interviewed for the Carolina Panthers' head coaching job in 2023 and was considered a top candidate for the Washington Commanders and the Seattle Seahawks last year.

A year ago, he was deep into the interview process when he decided to return to Detroit for another season. The Lions blew a 17-point lead in the NFC championship game and firmly believed they could’ve won the Super Bowl. Johnson wanted to run it back again.

Commanders top decision makers reportedly were on their way to Detroit when he told them about his decision.

With another stellar performance by his offense in 2024, Johnson remains a top candidate a year later.

He reportedly is interviewing with four teams this cycle: the Bears, Patriots, Raiders and Jaguars.

Johnson’s résumé

Johnson played quarterback and walked onto the team at North Carolina in 2004.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boston College in 2009 (Bears general manager Ryan Poles held the same title at Boston College in 2008). He earned a promotion to tight ends coach in 2011.

From there, Johnson spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins coaching several different offensive positions. In Miami, he worked under head coaches Joe Philbin until the Dolphins fired Philbin in 2015. They promoted tight ends coach Dan Campbell to interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015 season. All in all, Campbell and Johnson worked together for four seasons in Miami.

After the 2015 season, Miami hired Adam Gase as head coach. Gase kept Johnson on as a wide receivers coach.

The Dolphins fired Gase after the 2018 season, and Johnson went north to Detroit to work for Matt Patricia as an assistant. Two years later, the Lions fired Patricia and hired Campbell. Campbell named Johnson his passing game coordinator in 2021, then promoted him to offensive coordinator in 2022.

Why the Bears could be a fit

Bears fans would love to pair quarterback Caleb Williams with an offensive guru. Johnson is exactly that.

Johnson has elevated the play of Detroit quarterback Jared Goff. With Johnson running the offense in 2022, Goff went back to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2018. Goff earned a Pro Bowl spot again this year.

This came after many around the league considered Goff to be a bust when the Los Angeles Rams gave up on him. Even his first year in Detroit (before Johnson was OC), Goff and the Lions won only three games.

Williams clearly needs support in Chicago. Many believe he has the traits to be a good quarterback. But the Bears' offense was a mess in 2024. They fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron midway through the season, then everything fell apart after they fired Eberflus in November.

But Bears fans shouldn’t assume that the organization is going to hire an offensive coach.

“For a young quarterback, obviously, there’s an ideal fit,” Poles said this week. “But at the end of the day, you got to look at all the characteristics of what you’re looking for in a head coach, and then you got to see what’s the best bundle of those to bring in the building. Obviously, we’re talking about leadership, accountability, some of those important things that carry over. Regardless of what the situation is. Those have to be there.”

Any team that hires a first-time head coach is taking a leap of faith. Will the Bears be willing to do that with Johnson?

Time will tell.