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Ben Johnson (Coach)

Poll: Which Team Made Best 2025 HC Hire?

February 12th, 2025 at 10:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Saints making their post-Super Bowl Kellen Moore hire official, the NFL’s 2025 HC carousel has stopped. Nearly a fourth of the league has now changed coaches. Who fared the best with their hire?

Starting in Chicago makes sense, as the Bears convinced picky candidate Ben Johnson to sign on. Johnson was squarely on the Jaguars and Raiders’ radars, to the point it is safe to assume the three-year Lions OC was the favorite for both AFC teams. Johnson expressed concern about the Jaguars’ then-Trent Baalke-centered front office setup, and the Raiders could not entice the highly valued play-caller with a rumored big offer.

The Bears are believed to be giving Johnson a $13MM-per-year deal — more than twice Matt Eberflus‘ salary — to develop Caleb Williams after an uneven rookie season. After Johnson played the lead role in reviving Jared Goff‘s career and turning the Lions’ offense into a dominant attack, this is the most anticipated Bears hire in decades. Johnson will work with holdover GM Ryan Poles, who is expected to receive an extension, and team president Kevin Warren.

As this marks a third straight instance of the Bears drafting a first-round quarterback then firing their HC one season into that player’s career, the Patriots are in the same boat. They jettisoned Jerod Mayo one year into Drake Maye‘s career, capping a tough year for Robert Kraft, who passed on a head coaching search in 2024 due to having identified Mayo as Bill Belichick‘s long-term successor years ago. Kraft’s initial plan was for Belichick to coach through the 2024 season, giving Mayo more on-the-job training. But the Pats’ 4-13 2023 record scuttled that aim. After Belichick’s firing, Mayo did not prove ready — in the eyes of Kraft and most other observers.

Enter Mike Vrabel, who will make his return to Foxborough 16 years after being included in the Matt Cassel tag-and-trade transaction. The 2021 NFL Coach of the Year made sense as an option in 2024, when the Pats had a vacancy, but the team had inserted language in Mayo’s contract naming him the HC-in-waiting. New England has Vrabel set up to have the final say moving forward, though both he and de facto GM Eliot Wolf will report to Kraft. Vrabel was viewed as having overachieved in Tennessee, leading the Titans to their first AFC championship game since 2002 and following that up with two more playoff berths — including a No. 1 seed in 2021.

The Jaguars enjoyed a much more complicated route to complete its HC hire. After favorite Liam Coen initially rejected a second interview, Shad Khan fired Baalke — who was again viewed as a hindrance in a coaching search — and conducted stealth negotiations with Coen to reconsider. He ultimately did, and despite the one-and-done Buccaneers OC not having worked for the same team in back-to-back years since a three-season Rams tenure that ended in 2020, he is believed to be tied to a Johnson-level contract and will effectively pick the next Jaguars GM.

This is quite the coup for Coen, after he helped Baker Mayfield to a 41-touchdown pass season, and the exit — after Coen had agreed on a Bucs extension — certainly ruffled feathers in Tampa. But the Jags were desperate for an offense-minded coach to boost Trevor Lawrence, whom the team gave a $55MM-per-year extension ahead of a 4-13 season.

The Raiders pivoted to Pete Carroll, who is set to become the oldest HC in NFL history. Carroll, who will turn 74 in September, profiles as a short-term option. The Raiders gave the former Seahawks Super Bowl-winning leader a three-year deal, which is shorter than the typical HC contract. Carroll will work with powerful minority owner Tom Brady in aiming to turn the Raiders around. The Raiders have gone through four HCs and four GMs (John Spytek the latest) this decade, and they will hope Carroll can calm things down. Carroll was linked to conducting his interviews with a potential successor in mind. The team, however, hired 61-year-old OC Chip Kelly and kept Josh McDaniels‘ DC choice (Patrick Graham); this points to Carroll’s successor not yet being with the team.

Like Vrabel, Aaron Glenn is returning to the team with which his playing career is best identified. The former Jets first-round CB is being given more power than Robert Saleh held, being set to report to ownership. Woody Johnson went so far as to label GM Darren Mougey as Glenn’s sidekick, illustrating both a tremendous opportunity for Glenn and the state of a Jets organization that had trouble attracting candidates (Vrabel and Johnson among them) after a turbulent year.

Glenn, who comes over after elevating the Lions into a top-10 defense despite Aidan Hutchinson‘s injury, is already making his voice heard. Aaron Rodgers is not expected back, with Glenn and Mougey believed to have pressed the QB on ditching his Pat McAfee Show segments in an effort to focus on football. After two years of the Jets catering to Rodgers, they are in the hunt for a new passer — one Glenn will have a significant say in identifying.

Prior to his Cowboys meetings, Brian Schottenheimer had not conducted a head coaching interview since PFR launched in 2014. The second-generation NFL coach has made the stunning leap from off-radar candidate, who had been Mike McCarthy‘s non-play-calling OC, to Jerry Jones‘ next sideline leader. The Cowboys again conducted a strange HC change, waiting a week to ditch McCarthy — after term length proved a negotiating sticking point — before being tied to Deion Sanders, who never officially interviewed.

Schottenheimer beat out three candidates, as Dallas’ past three HC changes have now featured an interim promotion (Jason Garrett), a two-candidate pool (McCarthy) and now an off-grid option. Schottenheimer has, however, been a four-time NFL OC, dating back to 2006. He was in place for some strong Russell Wilson Seahawks showings, albeit having been fired from that post after three seasons.

The Saints saw McCarthy, Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury bow out, as their perennially bad cap situation — one featuring an onerous Derek Carr contract — certainly may have deterred some candidates. But Moore stuck with the team, agreeing to terms despite Super Bowl LIX having raised his stock considerably. The three-time OC will call plays in New Orleans, which will aim to find a post-Carr answer during Moore’s tenure.

Although the new Saints HC’s staff has yet to take shape, Moore will aim to elevate New Orleans after four straight non-playoff seasons. He comes to Louisiana after helming an Eagles offense that peaked at the right time, as the team overpowered the Commanders and Chiefs to claim the championship.

Which teams did the best (and worst) this year? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on the 2025 HC carousel in the comments section.

Bears Expected To Extend GM Ryan Poles; Team Authorizes Upper-Crust HC Salary For Ben Johnson

February 4th, 2025 at 10:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Going 0-for-3 in winning seasons as Bears GM, Ryan Poles nevertheless received a vote of confidence from team president Kevin Warren. The third-year Bears honcho installed Poles as the leader of the HC search process, doing so shortly after the club’s decision to can Matt Eberflus.

Poles arrived in Chicago two days before the Bears hired Eberflus. This gave the ex-Chiefs exec say in whom the Bears hired, albeit without him running the 2022 search. As such, Poles will be more closely tied to his second HC hire. The Bears’ latest HC add comes with much greater fanfare compared to Eberflus, and due to the demand Ben Johnson created, a high salary will come with it.

The Bears signed off on a $13MM-per-year deal for Johnson, according to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. That AAV more than doubles Eberflus’, with Cronin placing that at $6MM. While three AFC West coaches (Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh) are out-earning Johnson, not many others are. With coaching salaries not tied to the cap, teams are not required to make them public. But Johnson’s money likely checks in as a top-10 HC salary. It came after the Bears won a bidding war of sorts.

Johnson, 38, received extensive interest from the Jaguars and Raiders. While Mark Davis said the Raiders never made an offer, they were linked to preparing a big-ticket HC contract to add the successful Lions OC. The Jaguars also were believed to have Johnson atop their list. Trent Baalke‘s presence impeded Jacksonville — though, Johnson was believed to have stopped short of asking the Jaguars to move on from their then-GM — while Tom Brady‘s Raiders sales pitch could not match what the Bears presented.

That said, the two coaches Las Vegas and Jacksonville did ultimately hire — Liam Coen, Pete Carroll — will not have holdover GMs. The Jags are still searching — for an exec Coen will need to approve — while the Raiders hired ex-Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek. Johnson will work with Poles, but Cronin adds the high-end play-caller did not call for the Bears to start fresh at GM. Furthermore, Poles is likely to receive an extension that aligns with Johnson’s deal.

As it stands, Poles is signed through the 2026 season. However, Cronin adds the Bears are expected to authorize an extension to align Poles with Johnson. This will be a significant development for Poles, who is 15-36 as a GM. The Bears gave Poles’ predecessor — Ryan Pace — more time (seven seasons), and his first playoff berth did not come until his fourth season. Pace’s second HC hire (Matt Nagy) was responsible for that, after John Fox preceded Eberflus in going 0-for-3 in postseason appearances in Chicago.

The Bears gave Pace an extension during his fourth GM offseason as well, aligning him with Nagy. Although Warren is a new piece to this puzzle, a Poles deal coming this offseason would be quite similar to the Bears’ previous front office timeline.

Poles, 39, has certainly not been the most successful member of the 2022 GM hiring class. Neither Kwesi Adofo-Mensah nor Omar Khan has received an extension yet, despite two playoff berths occurring on their respective watches. The Giants have retained Joe Schoen, though he has also not received an extension and will enter 2025 on a hot seat. The Raiders fired Dave Ziegler midway through his second season. Poles beating his group to an extension would be surprising, but Pace’s tenure shows the Bears giving their GMs more time than HCs to turn the operation around.

An extension certainly does not make a GM bulletproof, as the 2022 ouster of Jon Robinson (Titans) and 2023 dismissal of Steve Keim (Cardinals) show. But a second contract will obviously prove financially beneficial for Poles. The Bears were able to land the biggest fish in this year’s coaching pool, however, and Poles would appear to be receiving tremendous credit for it. How Johnson fares with Caleb Williams will define Poles’ GM tenure in Chicago, but the young exec may not be facing a situation where he is on a particularly hot seat going into his fourth season.

Raiders Never Offered Ben Johnson HC Job; Latest On Team’s Pete Carroll Setup

January 28th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Pete Carroll confirmed Tom Brady was “intricately involved” in the Raiders’ coaching search. The hiring of ex-Brady Michigan teammate and Buccaneers staffer John Spytek confirmed the part-owner’s role in the GM pursuit. This plan may have been Brady’s backup, as reports of a long-running Ben Johnson push emerged.

Brady began scouting Johnson when he covered a Week 9 Lions-Packers game for FOX, and he made a big push to bring the former Detroit OC to Las Vegas. A big offer was believed to have been in play prior to Johnson signing on with the Bears. Although we may never know how closely the Raiders were to landing Johnson, Mark Davis attempted to provide some pushback to the notion he turned them down.

[RELATED: Raiders Interested In Darrell Bevell For OC]

While it can be safely assumed that had Johnson wanted to be the Raiders’ next HC he would be, Davis said (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) he did not offer the job to the high-profile play-caller. Instead of a potential Johnson-Lance Newmark pairing, it will be Spytek and Carroll running the show.

Going from a rising 38-year-old OC to the oldest HC ever hired, as Carroll is 73, represents a massive approach shift. But the Raiders are understandably interested in adding an experienced HC; Carroll installing a strong culture figures to be important after the instability in Vegas since Jon Gruden‘s forced resignation.

It is fairly clear Brady will have a significant say in the Raiders’ dealings moving forward. Davis already declared the all-time QB great-turned-announcer/owner will lead the way as the Raiders search for an answer at that position, and Brady effectively ran the HC and GM searches. Carroll is accustomed to holding final-say power; he was in that role above John Schneider for 14 years in Seattle. The new Raiders HC, however, said (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed) he and Spytek will work together in running the AFC West franchise.

Carroll had turned some control over to Schneider during his final years as Seahawks HC, but his contract gave him veto power. Tafur and Reed confirm Carroll’s Raiders deal does not include such power, which will make Spytek a more important figure in Vegas. That said, Carroll added that the duo will work with Davis and the Raiders’ minority owners regarding football decisions as well. This can certainly be interpreted as Brady continuing to have a significant say in how the Raiders operate.

Davis used a head coach-centric blueprint during Gruden’s second stay with the team, and while Dave Ziegler held roster control from 2022-23, it was widely assumed Josh McDaniels played a central role in personnel as well. Davis had Tom Telesco controlling last season’s roster. It will be interesting to learn if Spytek will control the Raiders’ 53-man roster this year. If he does end up doing so, Carroll’s experience and Brady’s stature will impact the power the new GM would hold.

Carroll’s age is an unavoidable part of this equation. Only one coach in NFL history (Romeo Crennel, as a Texans interim in 2020) has served as a head coach at 73. NFL teams passed on Carroll joining him last season, but Brady has long respected the former Super Bowl-winning leader. As Carroll prepares to install a culture change in Vegas, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates he did spend time during his coaching free agency stay looking into an assistant who could potentially succeed him. Bruce Arians had done this in Todd Bowles, and a succession plan to carry on a Carroll culture would benefit the Raiders — if their current plan is successful, that is.

The Raiders have yet to interview an offensive coordinator, but ex-Carroll Seahawks hire Karl Scott met with the team already. How the team’s OC search shakes out may be pivotal regarding any Carroll succession plans. For now, the energetic septuagenarian will enjoy a rare fourth chance to be an NFL head coach.

Trent Baalke’s Presence Affected Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn’s Jaguars Interest

January 27th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Liam Coen‘s about-face regarding the Jaguars confirmed what most had assumed about that job. Trent Baalke‘s presence, reported to be an issue for some HC candidates, had impeded this Jags search. The team was believed to have been “embarrassed” by Coen initially passing on a second interview.

Shad Khan then fired Baalke more than two weeks after canning Doug Pederson. The Jaguars will soon turn their attention to replacing him, but it is worth wondering what would have happened had the team done what many expected and fired Baalke along with Pederson. This particular “what if?” impacted the top offense-oriented candidate in this year’s hiring cycle.

Rumored to be interested in the Jaguars’ job, Ben Johnson received aggressive interest from the team. When he turned down the Jaguars to accept a Bears HC offer, the three-year Lions OC indeed expressed reservations about the team’s front office setup. Johnson may have been leery about signing on with Baalke, as Pederson was rumored to be back in 2022, but SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates Johnson may not have been ready to demand Baalke be fired in order to take over in Jacksonville. He then committed to Chicago, which is also keeping its GM — Ryan Poles — on staff.

The Jags discussed a big-money offer with Johnson, Breer adds, and earlier reports that Khan being willing to boot Baalke for the right HC candidate — despite giving Baalke the keys to this coaching search — certainly proved accurate. Before moving on from Baalke, Khan gave Johnson’s camp the impression he would be willing to do so, Breer adds. Johnson committed to the Bears two days before the Jaguars canned Baalke.

It is not known how serious the Jaguars were on Aaron Glenn, beyond the parties’ virtual interview January 11, but Breer notes that the four-year Lions DC expressed interest in bringing along a personnel staffer had he landed the Jacksonville gig. It is unclear who Glenn wanted to add in Jacksonville, but Baalke balked at this setup due to how it would impact his top lieutenant, senior personnel exec Tom Gamble. Khan had already spoken of beefing up his front office, and the upcoming GM hire may well move on from a prominent Baalke lieutenant anyway. Glenn signed on with the Jets on the same day Coen had informed the Jags he was out.

Khan keeping Baalke more than two weeks after Black Monday appears to have been a blunder. The owner allowing an embattled GM to make critical calls during the hiring period did not align with the team’s future. Baalke certainly could have steered the search toward a direction in which the incoming head coach would work with him rather than guide it to a candidate who wanted his own GM. In the end, the organization will pay up for Coen, doing so despite the one-and-done Buccaneers OC not being a finalist anywhere else. Coen, of course, had committed to staying in Tampa as OC before big Jags promises lured him back into that race.

Coen has the rare opportunity, as a first-time HC, to essentially pick a GM; he also signed a five-year contract believed to be worth Johnson-level money. Coen fared much better with the Bucs than he did with the Rams, when an injury-plagued offense plummeted to last in yardage in 2022. After going back to Kentucky, the two-time Wildcats OC had the Bucs’ offense third in yardage and fourth in scoring. Coen helping Baker Mayfield sustain his Dave Canales-overseen rebound played the lead role in him obtaining rare leverage; the Jaguars’ present state didn’t hurt matters, either.

As expected, Coen confirmed Monday he will call plays in Jacksonville. This was a sore spot during Pederson’s stay, as the two-time HC insisted — despite reported Baalke pushback — OC Press Taylor stay in that role. Taylor, whose presence caused issues on Pederson’s way out in Philly as well, was the Jags’ primary play-caller in 2023 and ’24. Although Trevor Lawrence‘s injuries impacted the team in that span, the Jags plummeted to 26th in scoring offense this season.

Additionally, the Jags are retaining special teams coordinator Heath Farwell. Hired in Pederson’s first offseason in charge, Farwell agreed to a three-year deal, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco notes. A 10-year NFL player, Farwell has been an ST coordinator since 2019. He in that role with the Bills for three seasons and has been an NFL assistant since 2016.

Bears To Hire Dennis Allen As DC, Declan Doyle As OC

January 26th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Bears new head coach Ben Johnson is starting to fill key positions on his staff, hiring ex-Saints head coach Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Johnson has also landed on Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle as his offensive coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Hiring Allen is hardly a surprise; he was mentioned as Johnson’s preferred DC as soon as the former Lions coach arrived in Chicago. Doyle interviewed with the Bears, but his relative youth and inexperience made him a somewhat unexpected pick. Notably, both coaches are part of Sean Payton‘s coaching tree and even overlapped for one season in New Orleans.

The Bears also elected to retain special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, despite reported interest in Darren Rizzi, another Payton disciple. This has been a big day for the 2024 Saints’ play-callers, despite the team’s 5-12 record. The Seahawks hired 2024 Saints OC Klint Kubiak as well.

At 28 years old, Doyle will be the youngest active coordinator and one of the youngest in NFL history; he has just five NFL seasons under his belt. Doyle’s first three came as an offensive assistant with the Saints, two under Payton and one under Allen. He then reunited with Payton in Denver, though the Broncos’ tight ends hardly featured in the offense during Doyle’s tenure.

Doyle won’t call plays in Chicago, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Those duties will remain with Johnson, though Doyle will obviously play a crucial role in shaping the Bears’ offense as they head into a second season with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams. Doyle’s priority will likely be a leaky offensive line that allowed a league-high 68 sacks in 2024. Their struggles contributed to the Bears finishing near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories, including a league-low 4,820 total yards. Doyle’s key offensive weapons include wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze as well as running back D’Andre Swift. The former tight ends coach will also look to revitalize Cole Kmet, who took a step back last season after posting career-highs in receptions and receiving yards in 2023.

Allen, meanwhile, will take over a Bears defense that finished 27th in yards allowed but 13th in points allowed in 2024. Chicago’s run defense was among the worst in the league, but they allowed just 17 touchdowns through the air, the fewest in the NFL. Allen will have a solid starting secondary, though the future of safety Jaquan Brisker is uncertain after missing most of the season due to his third concussion in three years. Allen will have more work to do along the defensive line, where the Bears lack high-level talent outside of Montez Sweat.

The Saints fired Allen after 2 1/2 seasons. The franchise’s continuity plan did not work, but GM Mickey Loomis was not ready to move on compared to where ownership was. Allen went 18-25 as Saints HC; that followed a miserable 8-28 mark overseeing the Raiders from 2012-14. While Allen has not worked out as a head coach, he played a key role in forming Saints contenders during his second stint in New Orleans. After Allen’s Oakland ouster, he reunited with Payton and soon took over as Saints DC.

After a woeful mid-2010s stretch, the Saints’ defense recovered under Allen. From 2017-21, the team posted a top-10 total defense in five consecutive seasons. This Bears chance will be Allen’s fifth as either a DC or HC. Following a tenure in which he collected a Super Bowl ring as Saints DBs coach, Allen will begin the 2025 season having either been a head coach or DC in 15 of the past 16 seasons. That represents considerable experience compared to Doyle, who will be riding shotgun to Johnson on offense.

With his three coordinators in place, as well as a few key assistants, Johnson’s first (and arguably most important) moves as head coach are complete. Now, he will turn his attention to the Bears’ offseason roster priorities as he tries to return the storied franchise to competitive relevance.

Bears Interview David Shaw For OC Position; Ben Johnson To Call Offensive Plays

January 26th, 2025 at 10:41am CST by Rory Parks

The Bears have interviewed David Shaw for their vacant offensive coordinator position, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Shaw, who is best known for his time as Stanford’s head coach, presently works as a senior personnel executive with the Broncos.

Chicago recently landed one of the most coveted head coaching candidates in the past several cycles by prying former Lions OC Ben Johnson away from its division rival. To no surprise, Johnson will call the Bears’ offensive plays himself (as relayed by Scott Bair of Marquee Sports Network), so whomever he taps as his first offensive coordinator will likely not be one of this year’s hottest OC candidates.

However, the 52-year-old Shaw has generated plenty of NFL head coaching interest in recent history. A former QB coach for the Raiders and QB/WR coach for the Ravens, Shaw joined the Stanford staff in 2007 and replaced Jim Harbaugh as the Cardinal head coach in 2011. Over his 12-year HC stint, he compiled a 96-54 overall record and three Rose Bowl titles, although the program took a nosedive towards the latter stages of his tenure, which precipitated his resignation after the 2022 season.

One of the attributes that contributed to his NFL head coaching candidacy – he in fact interviewed for Chicago’s HC post less than two weeks ago – is his work with a pro-style offense while at Stanford. That may have caught the attention of Johnson and the rest of the Bears’ brass, and Shaw’s head coaching interview clearly went well enough for the club to consider hiring him in a different capacity.

Johnson, meanwhile, indicated that the presence of quarterback Caleb Williams was one of the factors that convinced him to leave his comfortable position with the Lions and to accept the Bears’ HC post (via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin). Albert Breer of SI.com adds that Johnson would have been interested in the job at the end of the 2023 season had it been available (perhaps because he knew the Bears were in position to draft Williams).

As of the time of this writing, here is the current status of the Bears’ OC search, courtesy of our coordinator tracker:

Bears Request DC Interview With Vikings’ Daronte Jones

January 25th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Ben Levine

JANUARY 26: Jones’ interview with the Bears will take place this weekend, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

JANUARY 23: Ben Johnson isn’t wasting any time looking to add to his staff. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears have requested an interview with Vikings coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator vacancy.

After spending more than a decade in the college ranks, Jones got his first NFL gig with the Dolphins in 2015, when he worked as an assistant defensive backs coach. He later coached cornerbacks with the Bengals and defensive backs with the Vikings before being named defensive coordinator at LSU in 2021.

Jones only lasted one year at that stop. The coordinator wasn’t retained as part of Brian Kelly’s first staff in Baton Rouge, and he quickly caught on with the Vikings. After spending his first season in Minnesota as the defensive backs coach, Jones has spent the past two years serving as the Vikings defensive pass game coordinator.

As Rapoport notes, Jones has earned a reputation as a bright defensive mind, and he’s had time to hone his skills working under the likes of Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, and Marvin Lewis. The coach also has experience working alongside Johnson, as the duo were both on the Dolphins coaching staff between 2016 and 2017.

Rams defensive pass-game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant is the only other known candidate to potentially replace ousted DC Eric Washington in Chicago. The Bears (and Johnson) have been loosely connected to former Saints head coach Dennis Allen, and they were a rumored landing spot for former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo before he joined the Colts staff.

Bears Request OC Interview With Titans’ Bo Hardegree

January 25th, 2025 at 8:20am CST by Ben Levine

Ben Johnson is set to interview the first candidate for his offensive coordinator opening. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears have requested an interview with Titans quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree.

Johnson and Hardegree worked alongside each other during their stints in Miami. Hardegree spent three years coaching Dolphins QBs, including the likes of Ryan Tannehill, Jay Cutler, and Brock Osweiler. Hardegree later followed head coach Adam Gase to New York, where he had a two-year stop as an offensive assistant.

Following a one-year stay in New England, Hardegree left for the Raiders in 2022. He took on the added responsibility of offensive play-calling in 2023, and the Raiders offense performed admirably despite a revolving door at QB (Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, and rookie Aidan O’Connell). The coach finished that latter campaign as interim OC following the ousting of Mick Lombardi (alongside HC Josh McDaniels), but he wasn’t retained on Antonio Pierce‘s 2024 staff.

Hardegree spent this past season working as QBs coach with the Titans, where the tandem of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph struggled mightily. Still, that wasn’t enough to dissuade the Bears from seeking an interview with the offensive mind. It’s uncertain how much responsibility Chicago’s new offensive coordinator will have with Johnson running the show. That could end up being a positive for someone like Hardegree who lacks extensive experience.

Hardegree is the first definitive candidate for the OC job. Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle has been mentioned as a potential candidate, as was Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley, who has since recommitted to sticking in Detroit.

Bears Hire Two New Assistant Coaches

January 24th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Ben Johnson has been working quickly to assemble a new staff in Chicago. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears‘ new head coach has even contributed to the continued dissolution of the Lions‘ coaching staff, hiring Antwaan Randle El as the team’s new assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. Schefter adds that, while the Bears are still working to fill their defensive coordinator position, Johnson has already poached Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris to take the role of defensive pass-game coordinator and defensive backs coach in Chicago.

Randle El, a fairly successful former NFL receiver who made his mark as a return man, retired as a player back in 2011, taking a job as the athletic director at a Christian high school in Virginia that he helped found a few years later. In 2019, Randle El made a return to the NFL as an offensive assistant on the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl ring as a coach while assisting his former wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay.

In 2021, Randle El was hired under Dan Campbell as the wide receivers coach in Detroit. He’s built a reliable stable for the Lions, forming then-fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown into a star wideout, helping first-round receiver Jameson Williams navigate his way back from a nasty torn ACL suffered in his final collegiate game, and helping players like Josh Reynolds, Tim Patrick, and Kalif Raymond make big supportive impacts in Detroit. He’ll now follow Johnson to Chicago, where he’ll inherit a corps that loses Keenan Allen but returns a talented duo in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze.

It’s strange to see a defensive position coach get hired before a defensive coordinator, but it’s certainly understandable for Harris, who makes a long-awaited return to the NFC North after spending eight years of his 14-year playing career as a Packer. The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will take the new position in Chicago after five years in Dallas as defensive backs coach (with one of those years also giving him the title of assistant head coach).

Harris’ coaching career started in Kansas City where he worked with a secondary that included Eric Berry, Sean Smith, Brandon Flowers, and Husain Abdullah. His focus on the staff eventually shifted more specifically to cornerbacks as he worked with Smith, Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller, and Orlando Scandrick. After a year as a defensive assistant at Florida Atlantic University, he joined the Cowboys staff as defensive backs coach, where he mentored stars like Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, and several other impact starters. Harris inherits a talented group in Chicago that stars Kevin Byard and features Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaquan Brisker.

Johnson will continue to build out his staff, with former Saints head coach Dennis Allen being mentioned recently as a strong possibility to fill the defensive coordinator role. Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle has also been linked to the new Chicago staff. While he hasn’t coached with Johnson, Doyle worked with Campbell during their four years together in New Orleans. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears “would likely have to give him the (offensive coordinator) title to get him out of Denver,” which may not be very likely. In two years in his current role, Doyle’s tight ends have combined for only 845 yards and nine touchdowns over the two-season span, with no one getting more than 204 yards or three touchdowns.

Johnson was a highly touted head coach prospect, and he’s quickly building a talented staff of popular names around him. Bringing in accomplished position coaches who have formed incredible position groups over the last several years marks a strong start to his first NFL coaching gig. Bears assistants recently announced as not expected to return under Johnson include defensive backs coach Jon Hoke and running backs coach Chad Morton., per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. They follow in the footsteps of former passing game coordinator/interim offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown and former defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who were previously reported as not returning.

Bears Hire Ben Johnson As HC

January 20th, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

No second interviews are coming for Ben Johnson, after all. The coveted coordinator has made his choice, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Bears are expected to reach an agreement with the three-year Lions play-caller. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.

Although Johnson had stepped away as the Panthers’ preferred candidate in 2023 and then informed the Commanders late in last year’s process he was out, the Bears will land the coach who had been viewed by many as this year’s biggest fish. This represents one of the more significant developments in modern Bears history, as they had been connected to the rival coordinator for months.

As of Sunday, the Jaguars and Raiders were still in pursuit. Johnson had spoken to Tom Brady for hours during a Zoom meeting, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, but the Las Vegas setup had a notable hole the Chicago gig does not. The Bears used the Bryce Young trade to acquire the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, giving them Caleb Williams access. They have now secured a coach to develop the well-regarded prospect. The Raiders have yet to identify a quarterback, with Brady tasked with helping the organization land one. Las Vegas also dropped to the No. 6 pick thanks to two late-season wins, which may well have been a factor in this now-Brady-led HC search.

The Jaguars’ setup is not in line with what Johnson preferred, Russini adds, helping to eliminate them. Jacksonville made the unexpected move to keep Trent Baalke as GM after firing Doug Pederson. Baalke’s polarizing presence was believed to have turned off some coaching candidates, and it appears Johnson was one of them. The Jags were believed to be open to moving Baalke to a different position in the organization depending on their HC hire, as they prepared an aggressive Johnson push, but that may not have been enough to satisfy a coordinator with options.

The Bears may be zeroing in on a defensive coordinator as well. As Russini reported, both Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo had engaged in discussions about potentially joining Johnson wherever he landed. Johnson is expected to choose Allen, and Anarumo just committed to be the Colts’ DC. Allen has indeed emerged as a prime candidate to follow Johnson to Chicago, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Allen was in charge of the Saints’ defense from 2016-24, before being fired during his third season as head coach. Though, the ex-Sean Payton assistant — Aaron Glenn‘s boss in New Orleans — played the lead role in turning the Saints’ defense around during Drew Brees‘ final seasons.

Baalke’s Jacksonville presence may not be too dissimilar to how Chicago’s power structure looks now. Candidates were curious about what role third-year president Kevin Warren would play. While Warren had said GM Ryan Poles was running what turned out to be an expansive search — featuring nearly 20 confirmed candidates — the team president was believed to be closely involved in football operations. Advertised as an exec who would primarily stay on the business side, Warren has been instead heavily involved in football matters.

This setup still did enough for Johnson, who will work with Poles in attempting to restore the Bears as a power in a strong division. It should also be noted (h/t Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager) Poles and Johnson were each Boston College graduate assistants in the late 2000s. Poles served on the football staff in 2008 after his playing career ended, while Johnson was at BC from 2009-10.

Dan Campbell said earlier today he did not expect either Johnson or Glenn to return. Glenn remains a candidate with several HC-needy teams, but Johnson has loomed as Detroit’s more coveted option. His decision to back out of the Commanders’ job came as reps from the NFC East club were en route to Detroit for interviews with he and Glenn. Rather than hire Glenn, Washington chose Dan Quinn.

The latter’s team just eliminated Johnson’s from the playoffs, freeing the Bears up to make their preferred hire now rather than wait at least another week. Had the Lions held seed and advanced to Super Bowl LIX, the Bears would have needed to wait until after the mid-February event to make their hire.

The Lions’ shortcoming will benefit the Bears, who have not been able to firmly establish themselves as a contender since at least the mid-2000s. And that defense-powered operation only stayed afloat on that level for two seasons. The Bears have not made three straight playoff berths since Mike Ditka‘s tenure more than 30 years ago. The offensive minds the Bears have hired in the recent past (Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy) have not been able to move the needle, Nagy’s two playoff berths notwithstanding. Johnson, however, checks in as a candidate on a higher plane by comparison to those two HCs or really any coach the Bears have hired in recent history.

Although the Lions did not book three straight playoff berths during Johnson’s tenure, they may well be on their way to that. Detroit’s hotshot OC, promoted from a post as tight ends coach after being hired by Matt Patricia, played a central role in the long-downtrodden organization’s climb. The innovative play-caller drove Detroit to two fifth-place offensive rankings and this season’s top mark in terms of scoring. The Lions ranked in the top four in yardage in each of Johnson’s three seasons calling plays.

Johnson, 38, restored Jared Goff as an upper-crust quarterback, doing so after the Lions had acquired the five-year Rams starter as the throw-in piece in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade. Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC championship game and a 15-2 record this season. Johnson was seen as the architect of that resurgence.

Whereas Trestman was given Jay Cutler and Nagy mostly Mitchell Trubisky, Johnson will be tasked with developing Williams. It looks like he chose a Williams partnership over seeing what Brady could come up with in Vegas or working with Trevor Lawrence — and a $55MM-per-year contract — in Jacksonville. Williams ranked 28th in QBR this season, one in which the Bears had Thomas Brown move to three positions — pass-game coordinator, OC and interim HC — during a disjointed campaign marred by a 10-game losing streak. Williams showed a Justin Fields-like penchant for taking sacks, leading the NFL with 68. But the former Heisman winner also showed flashes that attracted candidates; he is signed through at least 2026 on a rookie contract.

This Johnson hire will be the Bears’ aim to maximize their Williams investment, and the team having D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze signed long term undoubtedly helped woo the picky HC candidate. The Raiders and Jags will need to pivot to other options, while the Bears stand to immediately become more interesting in a division in which they finished five games behind the third-place Packers. Johnson will get to work at attempting to reel in his former employer and a Vikings team that just went 14-3.

Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is how the long-running Chicago HC search wrapped up:

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