Report: Ben Johnson may only want Bears, Patriots jobs

If true, the Bears could be in some trouble.

Hold onto your butts, Chicago Bears fans. Things might be about to get weird.

Though the Jacksonville Jaguars may have excused themselves from the Ben Johnson sweepstakes, Chicago might have some stiff competition for the right to hire the Detroit offensive coordinator as its next head coach with the New England Patriots apparently emerging as strong competitors.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who has strong ties to the Patriots, has joined others in reporting Johnson has significant interest in both the Bears and Patriots jobs. In fact, Breer tweeted Tuesday that Johnson might only interview for those two positions.

On one hand, that’s good for the Bears’ pursuit of Johnson — less possible interference from other teams.

On the other … the Patriots are unfortunately the only open coaching job as attractive — perhaps even a tick more so — than as Chicago’s.

Both teams have exciting young quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, the respective No. 1 and No. 3 picks in last year’s NFL Draft. While both had impressive rookie years, Maye arguably did more with less despite racking up a bunch of turnovers. (As with Williams, Maye’s coaching and supporting cast let him down far more than he let them down.)

Also, both teams are among the top five in effective cap space for 2025 and hold top-10 picks in the upcoming draft.

But here’s where things get interesting.

1. The Bears unquestionably have a better roster right now on both sides of the football, with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet flanking Williams on offense and the likes of Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and an ascending Gervon Dexter Sr. on defense.

The Patriots, meanwhile, are more of a blank canvas: they have Maye, All-Pro-caliber cornerback Christian Gonzalez, special teams Pro Bowler Brenden Schooler, and not much else of note. But they do have an absurd $114 million in effective cap space (the most of any team) by far, which they might now have a chance to wield with an exciting new coaching hire, and the No. 4 pick, which could turn into a slightly bigger trove if they can trade down. (They blew the No. 1 pick by winning on Sunday, so their trading power is heavily weakened.)

Advantage: Bears, though Pats have the tools to get better quickly.

2. The NFC North has been a gauntlet, and the Bears proved themselves nowhere near ready to compete for it. All three teams besides Chicago made the postseason, and two have QBs and good teams locked in for the immediate future. Things could flip in Detroit when Johnson leaves, of course, and Williams might develop into the division’s best QB with the right coaching. But it’s still a significant “if” given where they are.

The AFC East is more open. The Bills are clearly the best team in that division, but the Patriots have split the season series with them each of the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the Pats took a game off the Dolphins, who are stuck in neutral, and the hapless Jets this season. One could argue more competent coaching could’ve won them at least two more games this season. With an upgraded roster and better coaching, this could be a backend AFC playoff team. So advantage Pats by a hair there. However …

3. The AFC is top-heavy at QB with Patrick Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert entrenched for the foreseeable future. So if you take the Patriots job, you’d better be confident you can get Maye on that level, or you won’t win anything. The NFC has a way lighter path in that regard, and Williams should ascend to one of those top positions quickly with good coaching. Advantage: Bears by a lot.

4. One big problem, though: the Krafts, for all their recent mistakes, are infinitely better, more respected owners than the McCaskeys. They strive for winning and excellence, as evidenced by all the Super Bowl rings, and they tend not to meddle much in coaches’ affairs. For all the Bears’ lineage, they’re nowhere near New England’s competence level.

5. One note that should worry Bears fans re: Johnson: he’s a UNC alum like Maye, and he has connections both to Patriots executive Eliot Wolf and to Maye himself. While those things don’t mean anything definitive about his leanings, the rumor is he really likes Maye’s game. Which makes sense given he’s stylistically the Super Saiyan version of Jared Goff. It requires absolutely no imagination to see Maye running Johnson’s offense and turning into a monster.

6. All that said: the Patriots reportedly have their eye fixed intently on franchise Hall-of-Famer Mike Vrabel, who has subtly hinted at his interest in the job for a while. (The Bears have also requested an interview with Vrabel.) The former Titans coach famously sent Tom Brady packing from New England, has strong ties with ownership, and would bring back the experienced/”Patriot Way” mentality the team didn’t have last year. Plus, the Pats could theoretically hire Vrabel as soon as they satisfy the Rooney Rule because he’s currently a free agent whereas they’d have to wait for Johnson and the Lions to lose to get an in-person interview.

If New England is willing to be patient and not immediately hire Vrabel, though, that could spell trouble for the Bears. As with Williams in Chicago, Maye is the most important person in the Patriots organization, and developing him into a star comes before all else. So it’s no guarantee the Pats will hire Vrabel on name alone; he needs to have a strong offensive plan and coaching staff.

So, if you want Johnson in Chicago, you’d better pray Vrabel knocks his Pats interview out of the park and convince Kraft to hire him right then and there. Otherwise, the Bears might be locked in a duel for Johnson that they’re not guaranteed to win.