Ben Johnson has been recently named the Chicago Bears head coach, with the team and their fans hoping that he will take the team to the championships in the next NFL season. Johnson was previously the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, and was also sought by other teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars got rid of their head coach, Doug Pederson, after a shabby NFL season, and were apparently strongly targeting Ben Johnson as their new head coach. While Johnson did not shed much light on why he rejected the Jaguars, several NFL insiders have dropped their takes on the whole situation. Will Brinson from CBS Sports cites Jacksonville’s general manager, Trent Baalke, to be the main reason as to why Johnson did not choose the Jaguars.
“The Lions’ most offensive explosive day came against Jacksonville, when Johnson’s unit dropped a 50-burger on the hapless Jaguars defense. It should have been clear at that very moment that Shad Khan needed to do whatever he needed to get Johnson in the building. But it sure sounds as if the reason he’s in Chicago and not Jacksonville is Baalke.” Will Brinson said.
Meanwhile, Dianna Russini from The Athletic had another opinion as to why Ben Johnson refused to take up the offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars. As per Russini, the ‘set up’ in the Jaguars team was not right for Johnson, who is expecting to do an honorable in his first stint as head coach.
Caleb Williams Is On Board With Ben Johnson As Head Coach
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will soon get what he asked for in a new head coach. Last week, Williams remarked in a podcast episode with Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown that he would like to work with an offensive-minded coach. Some time back, the Bears officially announced that they have Ben Johnson, who was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
Knowing that this was fully what Caleb Williams wanted in a head coach, it was not surprising to see the QB hit the ‘like’ button of the announcement on Instagram. In the previous season for the Chicago Bears, Williams managed 3,541 yards, scoring 20 touchdowns, while managing six interceptions.
While Williams definitely showed plenty of potential for the team, his performance was not enough and the Chicago Bears finished last in the NFC North, winning five games and losing 12. The Bears were three spots below the ruling Detroit Lions who finished 15-2 on the season.
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