Very interesting specific tidbit, which sounds true and may preclude Johnson from getting the Bears job unless Poles is fired first.
According to Walter Football draft analyst Charlie Campbell, team sources told him the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator wants the job, but Johnson’s hire would likely push out incumbent general manager Ryan Poles in the process.
Campbell said Johnson would likely want to work with Washington Commanders’ assistant general manager Lance Newmark.
Newmark was hired as Washington’s assistant GM in February before the 2024 NFL season began, but previously spent 26 years with the Lions. He most recently held the position of senior director of player personnel in Detroit, where he oversaw both college and pro scouting operations during the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons.
With this reservation in mind, Campbell said Poles would likely pursue Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as another Bears’ head-coaching candidate, given their past relationship.
Flores and Poles both played college football at Boston College, where their playing careers overlapped in 2003.
I find this report very credible.
I don’t think Ben would take the Bears job under the current management structure.
It is not the ownership but the structure.
A meddling president and a GM he doesn’t know or trust.
Newmark would be the answer, but he would also want to report directly to owner instead of through GM and President.
The Jets have an open GM position as well as coach but they have a meddling owner.
If Jacksonville opens that may be the spot for Ben.
I’d like to think Ben’s dream scenario would be to lift up a downtrodden AFC club and meet MCDC in the SB. Does he really want to become a villain to the fan base that has embraced and celebrated him the last couple of years? Wouldn’t think so, he obviously appreciates what the Lions have done for him. I don’t see him going to Chicago, but what do I know.
I don’t disagree with either of these things btw and would do the same. He should be very smart about whatever decision he makes because of the failure rate of coaches.
I just think Ben wanting to perfect situation may keep him here another year.
I don’t think the media is calling Ben “needy”. Again the reports that “sources say” and those sources are reportedly from the Detroit Lions organization that this is what Ben wants. I don’t see how that looks like the media calling Ben “needy.” I don’t see how it makes anybody appear to be calling Ben needy considering that HC’s picking ‘s to work with has become a common practice over quite sometime now!
I am surprised you all can’t see what’s happening here. The Bears front offices know Ben Johnson is a long shot for them to land. They plan to keep Poles and the fans and media like him. So why not put out information that Ben won’t work with him.
Poles is concerned Ben will want to push him out so Poles wants to go another direction.
If the Bears fail to land Ben (the media and fan favorite) it will look poorly on the entire Bears front office. They will be roasted by the media and fan base. So start your misinformation campaign now. Make Ben look demanding and difficult to land. They know it’s very unlikely they land Ben so their hedging.
The problem in CHI is there’s too many egos getting in the way.
Ok I misunderstood the accuracy as far as which team sources gave Campbell the report but my point remains the same. It’s not the media that is trying to make Ben seem “needy”….that would be the team!
I do think the Bears are trying to put this out as an easy explanation on why Ben Johnson isn’t coming to Shitcago, even after everyone has been putting them together as a “perfect match”. I also think this is coming from Warren. I’ve been keeping up with Chicago news just to see what they are saying, and more and more of them are pointing out that Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles both came from the Minnesota organization. The name that the media keep floating out there is indeed Brian Flores.
I think these stories are calculated plants by the Bears front office to begin setting the stage for Chicago fans to embrace the fact that getting Brian Flores would mean all of these guys would work together and share the same vision since they came from the same organization.
My opinion is, I dearly hope they hire Flores. Just as much as I wished they would draft Caleb. I think Flores would be an absolute car wreck there. They would be replacing a defensive head coach they fired in Eberflus, with a defensive head coach that also clashed with his rookie QB while with Miami in Flores.
I hope they hire Flores as well… Not bc I think he’s a bad head coach (the opposite actually) but bc it weakens the Lions biggest foe for the division, the Vikings.
I think Flores is a good defensive coordinator, but I don’t think he is a good Head Coach. He did have some success in Miami, but that team was also a mess thanks to how he handled things.
That’s a really good take and makes a lot of sense. I can’t imagine Ben Johnson is putting out a lot of information when we aren’t even in the playoffs yet.