Ben Johnson is remaining in the NFC North, opting to take a head coaching job with one of the Detroit Lions‘ top rivals.
The Chicago Bears and Johnson are finalizing a deal to make him the next head coach, NFL Media reported Monday.
Johnson, 38, has been with the Lions in various roles since 2019, including as offensive quality control coach, tight ends coach and passing game coordinator. He served as Detroit’s offensive coordinator over the past three seasons (2022-24), with the Lions becoming one of the best offenses in the NFL under his tutelage. Detroit finished in the top five in points and total yards in each of the past three regular seasons.
Johnson joins a Chicago team that’s coming off a 5-12 season, marking its fourth straight losing year. But Johnson will get the chance to mentor one of the game’s top young quarterbacks in Caleb Williams, whom the Bears selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars also vied for Johnson’s services, interviewing him earlier in January.
Prior to joining Detroit in 2019, Johnson, a now-first-time NFL head coach, was a graduate assistant and later tight ends coach at Boston College (2009-11). He then held several coaching roles with the Miami Dolphins from 2012-18: offensive assistant, assistant quarterbacks coach, tight ends coach, assistant wide receivers coach and wide receivers coach.
Johnson coached alongside Dan Campbell – who became Detroit’s head coach in 2021 and retained Johnson — with the Dolphins from 2012-15, with Campbell serving as tight ends coach until being promoted to interim head coach in 2015.
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