2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[cl smooth]

[David]

Hey, guys.  Anything cool happening?

[Cubfanintheknow]

I want to see Johnson at Halas Hall with a Bears hat on and standing at a podium with Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren in the background. Top if off with a horsefeathers-eating grin on George McCaskey. Then I'll believe it.

[minnesotacubsfan]

It’s hit the mainstream 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-reportedly-finalizing-deal-to-hire-lions-offensive-coordinator-ben-johnson-as-head-coach-203542792.html

[Brian707]

Was this Johnson to the Raiders nothing but a ploy to up the Bears offer?

[Cubfanintheknow]

Just now, Brian707 said:

Was this Johnson to the Raiders nothing but a ploy to up the Bears offer?

Don't care. And if it was... glad the Bears ponied up to get their man.

[Derwood]

[Outshined_One]

Just now, Brian707 said:

Was this Johnson to the Raiders nothing but a ploy to up the Bears offer?

It also could have been a "Ohtani REALLY likes Toronto!" type of rumor that LV started to cover their rears when they didn't land him.

[Wilson A2000]

Is Dennis Allen regarded as a pretty good DC?

[jersey cubs fan]

Hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog 

 

[BigSlick]

HOLY horsefeathers YALL

[jersey cubs fan]

2 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Is Dennis Allen regarded as a pretty good DC?

Good enough to get two different head coaching jobs, neither of which worked out

 

it makes a ton of sense that a first time HC gets a former HC as the coordinator on other side of ball than his focus 

[BigSlick]

well, they made the right hire. lets see if they can translate it to the field. 

[BigSlick]

i truly didn't think it would happen this fast, so clearly they've had an understanding for a while. 

all the Raiders noise is so funny in retrospect - clearly Johnson had known he's coming to the Bears for weeks now. 

[Old Style]

If I’m not mistaken, Dennis Allen gave Aaron Glenn his first DC job. 

I didn’t expect this to actually happen, but I’m thrilled. 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

11 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Was this Johnson to the Raiders nothing but a ploy to up the Bears offer?

Yes.  Well, maybe not that machiavellian, but until you have an actual contract it's reasonable to keep your options open and keep pressure on potential employers.

 

It's just never possible to tell which is smokescreens and which is real until post hoc

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I hope he has a big influence on turning over offensive personnel right away.

[UMFan83]

14 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

It’s hit the mainstream 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-reportedly-finalizing-deal-to-hire-lions-offensive-coordinator-ben-johnson-as-head-coach-203542792.html

As someone that lived through Dave McGinnis and Bruce Arians "finalizing a deal" doesn't let me feel all the way excited yet lol

[UMFan83]

1 minute ago, BigSlick said:

i truly didn't think it would happen this fast, so clearly they've had an understanding for a while. 

all the Raiders noise is so funny in retrospect - clearly Johnson had known he's coming to the Bears for weeks now. 

it was almost certainly using them for leverage

[Wilson A2000]

 

[BigSlick]

1 minute ago, Wilson A2000 said:

 

nobody knows anything until the person signs. thats it. 

[UMFan83]

For those concerned about Ben Johnson's ability to lead a team or calling him the next Nagy:

- Ben Johnson led potentially the best and most innovative offense in football the last 3 seasons. Look at Goff's numbers in Detroit and tell me when Ben Johnson got hired.  He was the head coach of the offense

- Matt Nagy called plays for 5 games with the Chiefs, under Reid who was the offensive mastermind.  He also had Patrick Mahomes, not Jared Goff.  I believe Reid even took over playcalling duties for the Chiefs playoff game before Nagy was hired

-The Bears obsessed over the statement 'leader of men'.  I know, they are still probably incompetent at their jobs, but they were not going to make a hire unless they were convinced that Ben Johnson is a leader of men

-To further that point listen to the St. Brown brothers podcast last week with Caleb on it.  The way Amon-Ra talks about Johnson, it seems pretty clear that he was beloved and got the most out of his unit. 

We don't know how he'll manage timeouts or the clock or in game situations, that will always be in doubt until we see it. But he absolutely checks every other box, especially coming in with Dennis Allen at DC.  Mike McCarthy is a floor raising move, Ben Johnson is a ceiling raising move IMO.

Bad day for America, good day for the Bears

[gflore34]

Appears the Bears and Poles knew who they wanted all along, all this hand-wringing and screaming about too many interviews, no direction, etc. was just useless melodrama.  Who's the fool now?

Guess now we'll also see if Dan Campbell is truly a meathead with brains.

Edited January 20, 2025 by gflore34

[SpongeWorthy]

russini is expressing the (correct) perception that the bears historically hit below their weight class because ownership isn't flashy, isn't all that rich and can probably be pushed around by hedge fund/tech/real estate guys

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This isn't mission accomplished. This is not failing step 2 in a long process with many, many potential failure points