NFL rumors: Bears need to clean house in front office to hire Ben Johnson

01/15/2025 01:55 PM

The Chicago Bears are one of the teams in the running to land Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coaching opening, but the presence of incumbent general manager Ryan Poles is complicating things, and Mike Florio believes the team would likely have to part with the general manager to land Johnson, mentioning what the Las Vegas Raiders did, as they cleaned house at head coach and general manager, and are in the running to land Johnson.

“I think it requires you to have a clear understanding of where you stand relative to the other teams,” Mike Florio said on 670 The Score. “If you want Ben Johnson but you have an ear to the ground about what Ben Johnson wants, what he’s looking for. This whole notion of Johnson prioritizing alignment with the front office is code for, ‘I want to hire my own guy.’ And so what did the Raiders do two days after they fired coach Antonio Pierce? They dumped GM Tom Telesco. There’s a reason for the 48-hour break. If you’re going to clean house, you clean house. I think the Raiders recognized, if we want to have a shot at Ben Johnson, and this comes from conversations not with the candidate, but with the agent.”

.@ProFootballTalk: "You got to read the tea leaves, connect the dots … I think for the Bears to even have a remote chance at Ben Johnson, they're going to have to clear out the front office.

"It's the cover charge to try to get Ben Johnson."

Listen: https://t.co/7gazoCQe94pic.twitter.com/ALNyikPNgM

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 15, 2025

Florio mentioned that this is something that a team like the Bears would have to feel out things in a conversation with Johnson’s agent. Johnson directly telling the Bears to fire Poles is not a conversation that would happen. He calls firing Poles the ‘cover charge’ to land Johnson. The Raiders have done that move to potentially make their opening more attractive to him.

“And I think for the Bears to even have a remote chance at Ben Johnson, they’re going to have to clear out the front office,” Florio said. “And I’m not saying that Johnson is saying, ‘do it.’ It’s the cover charge to try to get Ben Johnson. You gotta give him a runway to setting things up exactly how he wants.”

It will be interesting to follow Johnson’s process in the coming weeks, as he weighs his options to become a head coach while trying to help the Lions win their first Super Bowl.

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