After a long-awaited search, the Bears announced on Jan. 21, 2024, that Ben Johnson would be their new head coach. The Bears fired their previous head coach, Matt Eberflus, during the 2024-25 season and announced that they wouldn’t retain interim head coach Thomas Brown for the following season.
Coming into the season, Johnson was a front-runner for multiple head coaching positions, including the Bears’. Many Bears fans are thrilled about the hiring and believe that it will help them improve from their five-12 record next season. Niles West senior, Yusuf Patel, was thrilled about the hiring due to Johnson’s success as an offensive coordinator with the Lions, who had a record of 15-two.
“I think [Johnson] was a great hire because he led a Detroit offense that ranked top of the league in points per game, and helped them turn their record around from 3-12-one to 15-two and the No. 1 seed in the conference. He also utilized his players’ strengths like an average Jared Goff and made them look great,” Patel said.
Niles West Football and Track & Field coach, William Oline, was also satisfied with the hiring, mentioning that he believes the hiring will help build a winning culture that wasn’t present with the previous coaching administration.
“I think Johnson was a great hire, and I’m hopeful that he establishes a culture meaning to set a standard and having players understand that there are consequences for not meeting the standard. It gets everyone moving in the same direction and working toward the one common goal of winning,” Oline said.
Bears fans are also optimistic that the hiring will help their offense and help develop Caleb Williams, whom the Bears chose with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Senior, Xenofon Petridis, believes that Johnson helps develop Williams due to his offensive expertise.
“[Johnson] was a very good hire because he will help develop Williams because he is an offensive-minded head coach and is a good fit for Williams and the rest of the team,” Petridis said.
Patel also mentioned how he believes Johnson will be essential in the development of Williams, along with improving the offensive line to help create a dynamic offense with Johnson’s unmatched creativity.
“Johnson’s creativity is unmatched and will lead Williams to roll out more with designed runs and create a better run game in general and hopefully a better offensive line,” Patel said.
It is without a doubt that Bears fans are excited for the upcoming season and ready to see what Johnson can do to help lead the Bears to success.
