2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[Brian707]

11 hours ago, BigSlick said:

Damn nice, so we’ll find out by the end of this week if he’s coming here or not 

The Bears would be the best choice but if they don't meet his money demands he will go to Vegas or Jacksonville.  

[raw]

Ben Johnson's options:

Raiders
Pros- Clean slate. Not a completely terrible roster, but allows him to pick his own QB, RB, and build the team the way he wants. Helping with that, potentially will have a hand-picked GM to ensure he has, at worst, a lot of say. Brock Bowers is an elite level weapon on Year 2 of his rookie deal. Jakobi Meyers feels like a perfect fit in the St. Brown role of his offense, although not nearly as good. Solid OL talent.

Cons- it's the Raiders. They make the Bears look like a well-run organization. Still paying FOUR other coaches. He'd be the 5th HC since they moved to Vegas in the 2020 season. Mahomes in division along w/ Reid, Payton, Harbaugh, Herbert, tough sledding just to get out of the division. Then there's still Allen, Jackson, Stroud in the conference. No QB, no clear path to get a QB anytime soon.

Jaguars

Pros- Big money owner. Potential to hand-pick his GM if he can convince them to fire Baalke. Not a completely clean slate. Has a QB, who hasn't been great, but Johnson "fixed" Goff, he certainly can fix Lawrence. Easiest division in the sport with no elite teams and actually a worse team than them in the division. Florida weather, no state tax, and no real pressure to compete immediately with a clear path to compete for division titles.

Cons- Baalke makes the Bears GM history look like their the Ravens. If they aren't willing to fire him (and they haven't so far), it's a non-starter for a guy who actually has choices. If Lawrence can't be fixed, he's getting paid big money already and going to be tough to get out of this job alive if he can't turn around TLaw in the next 2-3 years. No history of winning.

Bears

Pros- 1 game away from SB last year, HFA this year, had SB dreams the last 2 years. Bears feel like the closest to reaching those being NOT in the AFC. Young, possibly generational QB in Year 2 of rookie deal. Talented D with all 11 starters and most depth pieces under contract. Can really rebuild the OL, RB, and depth of TE room. Familiarity with the division with proven success against them.

Cons- not able to pick his GM at all. Has to work with what may be a hot seat GM. Pressure to win right away AND develop a young QB. Tough division with 3 playoff teams and 3 top 8 HCs in the game. Only of 3 teams w/ weather/field issues potentially limiting offensive effectiveness late season. Too many cooks in the kitchen? What's Warren's role? Is ownership gonna meddle? Relatively poor ($$$) ownership.

These are 3 of the top 4 teams in cap space and top 7 in draft capital, so all provide a chance to add a lot of talent in a hurry. The key decision is how much say does Johnson want? How bad does he want/need a QB? Is he willing to build or does he want to win soon?

[WrigleyField 22]

That first sentence in the Bears pro list was a very confusing sentence until I figured out what you were trying to get across. 

[BigSlick]

I can’t divine what goes on in Ben Johnson’s mind, but I can’t imagine there’s a clearly better option for a first time head coach than Chicago. Is there organizational dysfunction here? Absolutely. Is it any worse than what we see in Las Vegas or Jacksonville? Not that I can tell. 
 

as the luminary John Fox said: “it’s all a problem.” There’s no wonderful fun job to walk into as a first time head coach. You’re always entering a pretty bad situation. (Unless you’re like, Mike tomlin, but that’s a very rare situation). I have to imagine Chicago is a pretty attractive franchise for a multitude of reasons, but I don’t know what Johnson values in the team he goes to. So it’s Kremlinology for us.

[Tryptamine]

I can't wait till we find out that Ben Johnson wanted the Chicago job, but the interest wasn't reciprocal and Chicago had already decided on McCarthy. Just a little extra kick in the nuts that Chicago sports likes to provide us every couple weeks.

[Brian707]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I can't wait till we find out that Ben Johnson wanted the Chicago job, but the interest wasn't reciprocal and Chicago had already decided on McCarthy. Just a little extra kick in the nuts that Chicago sports likes to provide us every couple weeks.

That or he was set to sign with the Bears but George catered in cheap fast food and Ben Johnson got the shits

[Wilson A2000]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

I can’t divine what goes on in Ben Johnson’s mind, but I can’t imagine there’s a clearly better option for a first time head coach than Chicago. Is there organizational dysfunction here? Absolutely. Is it any worse than what we see in Las Vegas or Jacksonville? Not that I can tell. 
 

as the luminary John Fox said: “it’s all a problem.” There’s no wonderful fun job to walk into as a first time head coach. You’re always entering a pretty bad situation. (Unless you’re like, Mike tomlin, but that’s a very rare situation). I have to imagine Chicago is a pretty attractive franchise for a multitude of reasons, but I don’t know what Johnson values in the team he goes to. So it’s Kremlinology for us.

Depends if you value having a young and talented QB over being able to pick and trust your GM

[jersey cubs fan]

Ben Johnson’s greatest success has been with an okay veteran. There’s been suggestions he didn’t want Washington job because he preferred using a stable veteran rather than volatile young draft pick. He may not have any interest in coaching Caleb Williams. If that were true I’m not sure I’d be bummed about missing out on him. 
 

He could also prefer a situation where he can build a roster for 2 years then figure out a way to draft his own guy after he’s established a culture. Never underestimate the ego of a nfl head coach. They generally don’t like using others peoples players 

[UMFan83]

If true, lol to the “this is wrapping up soon” crew

 

[Brian707]

If this is true(doubtful), the Rams asking price will be huge

[SpongeWorthy]

 

ronpaul.gif 

[Brian707]

Private flight from Pontiac Mi to Wheeling IL due to arrive at 2:14pm today

This is the same plane that Mike McCarthy took.

N318JH Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware

Edited January 20, 2025 by Brian707

[SpongeWorthy]

15 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

If this is true(doubtful), the Rams asking price will be huge

elon has broken UMFan's brain

[UMFan83]

3 minutes ago, SpongeWorthy said:

elon has broken UMFan's brain

Make bluesky better and I'll move permanently.

[UMFan83]

9 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Private flight from Pontiac Mi to Wheeling IL due to arrive at 2:14pm today

This is the same plane that Mike McCarthy took.

N318JH Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware

Is that even the Bears plane or just a charter jet they use?  It flew from Pontiac to Chicago as recently as 3 days ago so it seems like that's a normal route for it.

[gflore34]

Johnson picking the Bears or not, he's not the only avenue to success, McCarthy or Monken/Brady/Kingsburry will work as well.  Just not Flores/Weaver or some other defensive dumbass, once again, Poles, it's not horsefeathers rocket surgery.  Honestly, I'd be more than OK with McCarthy, I know he looks Jabba the Hut but, one can't deny the success he's in developing Rodgers and Prescott.  He'd be good for Caleb.

Edited January 20, 2025 by gflore34

[Brian707]

7 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Is that even the Bears plane or just a charter jet they use?  It flew from Pontiac to Chicago as recently as 3 days ago so it seems like that's a normal route for it.

Looks like its a charter jet. 

[jersey cubs fan]

Why would Stafford retirement affect the bears decision to try and get a coach? 

[17 Seconds]

they got him

[minnesotacubsfan]

Just now, 17 Seconds said:

they got him

?

[Brian707]

Holy horsefeathers!

 

 

Edited January 20, 2025 by Brian707

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Well hot damn, this doesn't suck.

 

If he can be a good influence on Poles for offensive personnel we might just salvage this 

[17 Seconds]

Schefter says Dennis Allen is the leading candidate to be DC

[Wilson A2000]

Wow. Did NOT expect it to be this easy or quick. Nice work for once, Bears! 

[cl smooth]