Chicago Bears new head coach Ben Johnson made his presence felt on Day 1

The Ben Johnson era is officially here in Chicago. Despite the Chicago Bears interviewing nearly 20 different candidates for their head coaching vacancy, the organization landed on everyone’s favorite candidate all along. Johnson had the opportunity to make the leap to a head coaching role last offseason, but elected to return to Detroit. It appears that the Bears opening was the job he had his eyes on the entire time.

On Tuesday, the newest head coach of the Bears set foot in Halas Hall for the first time on Tuesday, signing his contract to make him the 19th head coach in franchise history. And as he arrived, he was greeted by cheers from Bears’ staff.

Johnson told Bears staffers “This is exactly where we wanted to be” as you can see in the clip below:

🗣️ “This is exactly where we wanted to be.” pic.twitter.com/mT56UoVGdl

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 21, 2025

Johnson agreed to a deal on Monday to become the next leader of the franchise after being the most coveted head coaching candidate across the league in quite some time. His offensive background will be beneficial for the development of Caleb Williams as he enters his second season in the NFL.

Ben Johnson still needs to assemble his staff for the Chicago Bears

With Johnson taking care of the offense, all of the focus shifts to the defensive side of the ball. Early rumors have former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as the favorite to be the next defensive coordinator in Chicago. Allen runs a 4-3 defense and his style would mesh well with the current personnel on the Bears roster. Despite his lack of head coaching success in the NFL, Allen has still proven to be a good defensive mind in a building.

The Chicago Bears officially have their guy

The Bears went out and got the biggest name in a coaching cycle for the first time ever. It’s a new era in the Windy City and the hope of winning a Super Bowl officially lies in this offensive guru’s hands. With the Bears’ draft capital and open cap space, the front office has the opportunity to build a competitive roster for Johnson’s first season at the helm.

The big issues that will need to be addressed are on both sides of the line. Another pass rusher is a major need on the opposite side of Montez Sweat in order to generate any sort of pressure, which is something the Bears have lacked over the past two seasons.

The offensive line allowed Williams to be sacked a league-high 68 times this past season. That too is something that needs to change and can be done through free agency along with the draft. Lastly, replacing veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen will be on the to-do list. Allen had a solid year in Chicago, but Johnson could look for some more speed alongside DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.