Tony

It's amazing how much damage Jerry caused from a PR perspective with his comments about "not wanting to waste a year" And while there are MANY things to be frustrated about regarding this organization, their continued lack of media training and strategy has always been maddening to me. To your point, they could have done themselves a lot of favors by coming out and saying "Listen, we had people here that quite frankly we're probably here too long. We can't do anything about that now, they're gone, and this isn't about putting a fresh coat of paint on things, this is about tearing it down to the studs and starting over. And I know Sox fans aren't going to love hearing that, I know the pain the fan base suffered through a rebuild that didn't result in what everyone wanted, but this organization needs an entirely new approach or we're going to all suffer similar results, and that's not acceptable to anyone. It's going to be painful, it's going to take time, but I am so committed to doing things the RIGHT way to build something that will have sustainable, long lasting success. It's all I care about." You say that out of the gate, you buy yourself A LOT of good will. But they went...a different route. And it's on THEM for that, not the fans.

Yeah, and with the media landscape today (that has changed A LOT in the last five years or so) we would have a pretty good idea if his reputation is inflated. When Waldron was hired, you had Seattle players going on podcasts saying "Yeah, good luck with that Chicago..." That clearly hasn't been the case with Johnson

Alright, I'm out on Johnson. f*** that guy 😂

We don’t really know what he wants. I assume he wants to call plays, but maybe he doesn’t? He also has to consider fit and what he sees as higher success rate. If he is a firm believer in Johnson and what the Bears will be, and he isn’t as high on Geno/Seattle, maybe he picks the Bears. Also, the ultimate variable of money.

Sign Hank Fraley to put the cherry on top.

There is going to be something VERY interesting to watch in training camp and throughout the season. The 2024 Bears wouldn't shut up in the media about wanting a coach that brought in more accountability, challenged the players more, etc. There were also multiple players that mentioned some members of the team being the last one in, first one out, etc. Names were never discussed or disclosed. I think Caleb was pretty fantastic in his media availability and seemed like the most mature player on the team most times, but I can't say I don't wonder if Caleb could be one of the guys that falls into that "last one in" category. I certainly hope that isn't the case, but in the article above, Goff talks about being a "mutt" and how much time they spent together just talking shop, offensive ideas, etc...I really hope Caleb takes that same approach.

Objectively, no one can really disagree with that statement. At this point, it's a simple faith based argument that you hope Poles has learned a lot in the last three years, and there is going to be A LOT of new voices in the room with Johnson, Allen, and the rest of the staff to help collaborate on the types of players they should be targeting. But there is very little evidence at this point to tell us Poles is the right guy for the job. Unfortunately, he has the job and it's simply hoping for the best right now. Ben Johnson coming in is a good start.

This isn't a bad take. We are happy, but they don't deserve extra credit for doing the obvious thing. We're conditioned for them to do the wrong thing, because we live in Chicago, but they did the right thing, and it's a good first step. But drafting Caleb and hiring Ben Johnson quite frankly is the easy part. They haven't shown us they can do the hard part.

If they can someone pull off Hank Fraley as OC…that would the cherry on top of a great coaching staff. I know he’s got a second interview in Seattle, and maybe he wants to call plays, but I sure hope BJ can pull it off. https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2025/1/20/24347699/detroit-lions-linemen-wont-let-coach-hank-fraley-go

Cliche to say, but the easiest way to set a good culture and be a “leader” is W’s. McVay isn’t nuts. Neither is Shannahan. Win, and the culture sets itself

Just had this conversation with my old man, who is very much a doubter when it comes to the Bears, understandably so. While I've gotten much closer to that approach over the years, you can still separate the two. If you have someone working under you and they make 5 mistakes in a row, when they do something right, I'm going to be happy, but it doesn't mean that one correct thing they did erases the 5 mistakes. When I heard the news and got hit with texts from friends, I was happy. I still am. Very happy the football team I root for made the decision I wanted all along. Smile on my face. I'm also not predicting they win 11 games next season because they hired Ben Johnson. They have a ton of work to do. And I'm probably not picking them to win 11 games next season, no matter what happens in the offseason or preseason. I need to see it on the field, for a while, before I "buy-in" because there is just too much history to tell us they'll find a way to screw it up.

I still would hate them taking one that early, but with two 2nd rounders, I wouldn't pitch a fit. Fix the trenches and everything becomes so much easier, and everyone gets a lot better.

Would be an insanely bad pick. Saw someone tweet during the Eagles/Rams game. Can't remember the exact wording, but the idea was: RB is a gasoline position. If you have a good OL and scheme, the fire is lit. But you can't expect the RB position to bring the matches and wood. A bad OL will put that fire out ASAP. The RB is the accelerator, can turn the campfire into a blaze. Meaning...they gotta fix the OL before they can think about spending real draft capital on the RB position. *I would also add I would guess BJ feels the same, would rather build out the OL first before getting the RB. The entire offensive won't work without an OL.

Big picture, the offensive needs to significantly improve. It won't take a year to see if Caleb is in good hands or not, or is there a large performance change that we can see. I say that because with the NFC North being an absolute force last season, so many weird things can happen, so I'm not ready to say "They have the make the playoffs or this is a bust." This is the hire they should have made. Brian Flores? Come on. They took a QB at No. 1 overall, and the offensive seemed broken many times this season. They need to fix that, and this was the best option available. And they got him. Now they need to find more talent for this roster, which is the harder part.

They did things the right way. Good for them. Now the hard part starts

Feels like if the money was the same, BJ would take the Raiders job because he gets to bring his GM, where it doesn’t seem like that option is going to be present with the Bears (which is incredibly dumb)

Could be a good sign?

I see it differently, and maybe I’m giving the Bears more credit than they deserve, but god help us if that’s the case. Reports have indicated early the interest on both sides with Johnson. I still contend that from an objective standpoint, the situation in Chicago is better than Vegas. I do think there would be concern inside HH that they don’t feel 100% comfortable with hiring an unproven candidate like Johnson, him suffering the same fate as Nagy, Eberflus, etc. Which would then shift to McCarthy. Not as exciting, and lower ceiling than Johnson, but higher floor, feels like you know what you’re getting. I know we aren’t inside the room, but I just don’t see any assistant being more attractive than Johnson. Doesn’t mean a guy like Monken can’t have success, but Johnson has been the No. 1 name out there for a while, and if they really do have interest in both McCarthy and Johnson, I don’t see them striking out on both. Option C of course is we have no idea what the hell is going on and they end up with David Shaw and believe they are smarter than everyone else, and we all suffer as a result.

Yeah, I heard the report yesterday that it sounds like McCarthy requested the in person, so I agree that it’s maybe less “intense” than I previously believed…but I still think he’s the favorite right now for a number of different reasons, and I agree with the sentiment that they are going to screw up this process in regards to Johnson. McCarthy won’t be a terrible hire, but it’s not the best they could do. Welcome to being a sports fan in Chicago.

But if you're basing your opinion on what has been reported, Russini (same outlet as Courtney) reported this on Jan 8th: Seemingly, that has held true for the first 10 interviews the Bears have completed, including candidates like Pete Carroll, who had nothing stopping him from meeting in person for the first round of interviews. What changed with McCarthy? This is his first interview with the Bears, yet he's the only one that has been flown in. That's not nothing.

I truly believe this is going to be a situation today where they "don't let him leave the building" They are flying him in on a private jet, rolling out the red carpet...think it's basically over if they are willing to shell out the money

At this point, I'll be shocked if it isn't McCarthy. It just makes too much sense for the Bears FO and how they view things. Poles, and really everyone in that building is feeling the heat. It's been an awful three year stretch, let alone the last 15 years for the organization as a whole. There seemingly is less risk involved with a McCarthy hire, because you have a much better understanding of what the floor looks like. There is most likely a higher floor with McCarthy than there is with Ben Johnson, mostly having to do with the unknown with Johnson as a HC. But that obviously works the other way too, there is seemingly a much higher ceiling with Johnson, again because of the unknown. But McCarthy can check off a lot of boxes for the Bears in a press conference. Offensive mind, has won a Super Bowl, one of five coaches to lead a franchise to 8 straight playoff appearances. He's 61, so he should have another 8-10 years in the league if he wants. And George watch him beat the hell out of the Bears as HC for Green Bay. It just seems like the perfect marriage as the Bears would see it. I don't, I still think you take the bigger swing with Johnson, but I think that ship may have sailed.

You think fans were pissed this year? Watch Fields go to the Raiders, led by Ben Johnson, and light things up. That should be fun 😂

Especially because Ben Johnson has been the name fans have wanted for probably a year, nothing changed this season (if anything fans want him more) and he's sitting out there, waiting for a suitor to sign him up, AND has reportedly shown interest in the Bears job. All the Bears have to do is bring it home...and anyone that has followed the team knows how unlikely that is for the Bears to pull off...because it's the Bears.

There are ways to get a commitment from Johnson through back channels, it happens quite a bit. Still obviously some risk involved, but Johnson wouldn't be the first coach to have an agreement with a team before the playoffs are over, then it gets announced. It's on the Bears if they can pull it off