Kyle Long entered the NFL in 2013, drafted by the Bears 20th overall in the first round. Chicago had just fired Lovie Smith and replaced him with offensive guru Marc Trestman, who lasted just two years. On Monday morning, hours before news broke that the Bears had hired Ben Johnson as head coach, Long had some advice for his former team.
“The first thing I would tell them is to do whatever it takes to get Ben Johnson to be the head coach,” the three-time Pro Bowler told Kevin Clark on This is Football.
Mission accomplished. The Bears are finalizing those whatever-it-takes contractual details to hand Johnson the reins to their storied franchise. In three years (2022-24) navigating the Lions’ offense, Detroit finished fourth, third and second, respectively, in yards per game. The last time Chicago finished in the NFL’s top five in that category was 1977.
Long wasn’t finished with his advice, though. He also told the Bears they need to give Johnson some semblance of autonomy with personnel decisions, including the draft. That and give him time to ask tough questions of ownership with respect to why he’s now the fifth full-time head coach the Bears have hired since they terminated Lovie Smith after the 2012 season.
“I’d want to really break down, from a football standpoint, why these firings happened,” Long told Clark. Sometimes these GMs, they draft to try to save their job on the way out. Puts the next guy in … it’s the domino effect.”
That domino effect has doomed the Bears. They’re currently stuck in a disturbing pattern in which they’ve fired their three straight head coaches exactly one year after drafting a quarterback high in the first round. And that’s why Caleb Williams, who gave his instant reaction to Johnson on Monday, is obviously their No. 1 priority.
“Do everything that you can do to protect and put him in position to have success,” Long said. “Now, we didn’t think Jayden Daniels was going to show up and take the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship, but at the end of the day, I can promise you that their mission statement since acquiring him was to do everything that they can do to make sure their quarterback is in the best position to have the team in the best position. That’s what Chicago needs to do.”
They can do that by prioritizing their offensive line, which ranked 17th in 2024, according to Pro Football Network. They also need to improve their defense, which allowed 354.2 yards per game, 27th in the league. Adam Schefter reported Monday that Johnson’s top candidate to head the defense – a critical hire for a rookie head coach with an offensive pedigree – is former Saints head coach Dennis Allen.
For more information on the Bears or the NFL hiring cycle, visit the Chicago team page and the Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.
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