The decades-long quarterback drought in the Windy City is well-documented, but just as troublesome for the Chicago Bears, at least during the 21st century, has been the inability to find the right head coach. Dick Jauron started the century off in unspectacular fashion. Lovie Smith took the Bears to the second Super Bowl in franchise history, but never completely had the faith of the fanbase. John Fox and Marc Trestman were total disasters. Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus both managed to become Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago before they were fired.
New Bears head coach Ben Johnson may turn out to be different. The 38-year-old offensive mastermind wanted to be in Chicago, Chicago wanted him, and unlike any of the names mentioned above, the hiring of the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was met with not even a shred of skepticism around the league or within the city itself. In fact, even a month after the hiring became official, the match between Johnson and the Bears is still receiving rave reviews.
According to Adam Hoge of CHGO, Johnson has been described as, “a maniac, in a good way” by one anonymous NFL coach, while another noted that, “he’ll get the most out of Caleb (Williams).”
“You already had your quarterback. Now you have the coach,” one current NFL offensive coordinator added.
Despite facing incredibly high expectations and being saddled with one of the league’s worst offensive lines and coaching staffs, Caleb Williams’ rookie season included more moments of promise than any Bears quarterback has shown since Jay Cutler. Though it wasn’t a particularly high bar to clear, it was by far the best season ever by a Bears rookie QB, and assuming general manager Ryan Poles uses the offseason to rebuild the offensive line, there’s no reason to believe that a huge jump could be coming for Caleb thanks in large part to Ben Johnson.
Another factor in this equation is 28-year-old offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who arrives in Chicago after short but promising stints in both New Orleans and Denver. Hoge states that “those who have worked with him (Doyle) feel like he’s a rising star,” and Johnson even referred to his upcoming partnership with Doyle as “a match made in heaven.”
If this is all true, then fans in the Windy City can rest a little easier knowing this long-standing quarterback drought will soon officially end. We’ll embrace this ‘maniac’ coach for as long as we have him, which will hopefully be a very long time. And we’ll watch as what will hopefully be the next golden age of Chicago Bears football comes to fruition.
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