The Chicago Bears conducted a wide-ranging search for their new head coach, but it was apparent (pretty quickly) that Ben Johnson was the guy.
Once Johnson was available for hire -- following the Detroit Lions' divisional loss to the Washington Commanders -- news dropped that the Bears were hiring Johnson not even 24 hours later. While Chicago never met with Johnson in person, per NFL rules, they interviewed him virtually during the Lions first-round bye. And he made quite the impression.
Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren told Pro Football Talk that it didn't take long into the virtual interview for him to realize that Johnson was the guy.
“Within 10 minutes of the interview, within 10 minutes of the interview starting for me, if you look at my notes that I took, I knew right then,” Warren said. “Because he was so passionate, he’s absolutely brilliant, he’s smart, he was tough, he was demanding and because I had never talked with him, you never know. And I had gone back and watched all of his media interviews and you know you’re watching a lot of candidates on the sideline, their demeanor, how they communicate with players, all of that. But in the first 10 minutes of the interview I just felt in my heart that he was the person to lead the Chicago Bears.”
Even before the interview, Warren had a good feeling going into it after talking to players that Johnson had coached during his career, and they had rave reviews.
“I was able to make calls to individuals he had coached at Miami, at Detroit, the different locations to really get a sense of what he’s like in the meeting rooms, his decorum, and so people say the same thing, he is absolutely brilliant, he’s a hard worker, he’s demanding, he’s tough, he keeps everyone accountable, but most of all, he’s a really good person,” Warren said. “And that’s the thing: You win in this business with good people.”
Only time will tell if Johnson will find success as Bears head coach, but he's off to a solid start with how he's approached the job.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Kevin Warren knew almost immediately Ben Johnson was the guy for Bears