Cubs News: Ben Johnson on hiring coordinators, coaching in the NFC North |
CHICAGO - Ben Johnson was officially introduced to the world as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears. Given his offensive expertise and skill, he showed with the Detroit Lions as their offensive coordinator, he will be calling the plays for the offense.
Johnson emphasizes balancing the run and passing attack, although he also said the offense will not look like it did with the Lions. “We’re always going to be attacking on offense. We believe in multiplicity and so, that’s both formationally and conceptually. We’re going to make things very challenging on the defense each and every week. We want the ability to morph whether it’s 50 runs in a game or 50 passes in a game. It does not matter. Balance, to me, is throughout the entire season, not necessarily within the game and with that being said, those are broad strokes of what this will look like,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to look like it did in Detroit. We have a completely different personnel group than what we did in Detroit. So, this entire offense is going to be predicated on the guys that we have available, and that’s going to take the springtime as well as a training camp to hone into what that’s going to look like.” Despite the fact that he will be calling the offensive plays, it is still important that Johnson has an offensive coordinator he trusts. Chicago’s interim offensive coordinator and interim head coach during last season, Thomas Brown, conducted an interview with the New England Patriots for their offensive coordinator position. Perhaps that is an indication he knows he will not return next season. Or, he wants to call the plays like he did part of last season. When looking for his offensive coordinator, Johnson highlighted the need for someone detail-oriented and structured. “It’s going to be critical for me to find somebody that can organize and structure and set the table, particularly early in the week. I’ve been around a number of guys that have called plays in the past and I’ve seen the potential pitfalls that could arise as you’re coaching the entire football team and you can’t get to watching as much tape early in the week as you possibly could,” Johnson said. “So, the offensive coordinator position is going to have to be somebody that not only I trust but will be extremely detail-oriented, organized and structured to set the table and also willing to work late nights.” On the other side of the ball, it appears Eric Washington may be out as defensive coordinator. Johnson is looking for someone with experience. Washington has a total of three years of experience as a defensive coordinator. When he was tasked with calling the defensive plays last season, the defense stumbled. In three of the five games he was the play caller, the defense allowed over 30 points. That did not happen once before he called the plays. “It’s going to be critical that I hire people that (have) some experience here in this league and I can lean on and I can trust,” Johnson said. “Defensively, there are a number of guys I want to talk to and really it will be predicated on who we decide to go with (in regards to) what that defense is going to look like.” There was speculation that Johnson would take a head coaching job last year. However, he opted to stay with the Lions one more year before making the jump to head coach. Now, in an unusual move, he stayed in the same division. This desire to stay in the same division comes from his drive to compete against the best teams in the league and Johnson knows the NFC North is the toughest division in football. “This is the toughest division in football right now. There’s three teams that made the playoffs this year. I’ve got tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and the players in this league having completed against them for the past six years,” Johnson said. “Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell, you’re talking about two guys that are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends and to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.” It has been a common trend for the Chicago Bears to hire someone who has not been a head coach before. That was the case with Thomas Brown when he stepped in as the interim coach, and was the case when Chicago hired Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus. Obviously, those hires did not go well. Thus, there are some concerns that the cycle could continue with Johnson. However, that is not something Johnson is concerned about. “I’ve found a way to excel in each job. So, I’m deeply committed to finding a way to make this work,” Johnson said. “My core values really rest on work ethic, selflessness and poise and I expect that to be embodied within this team.” Interim head coach Thomas Brown, interim OC/WRs coach Chris Beatty, OL line coach Chris Morgan, QB coach Kerry Joseph and defensive coordinator Eric Washington will not be retained by the Bears.
