Caleb Williams 4 Chicago BearsDaniel Bartel/Imagn Images

Before news broke Monday that Ben Johnson surprisingly had agreed to become head coach of the Chicago Bears, Josina Anderson reported Johnson was deeply considering the Windy City. According to Anderson, a Beantown connection sealed the deal.

Anderson said Monday afternoon on The Exhibit that Chicago general manager and Boston College product Ryan Poles delivered the words that convinced Johnson to choose the Bears over the Raiders and Jaguars. Poles played at BC under Frank Spaziani, who hired Johnson as a graduate assistant in 2009 and promoted him to tight ends coach in 2011.

Additionally, Anderson said whether Tom Brady would micromanage the Raiders’ offense, and Chicago having a quarterback with NFL experience, played a role in Johnson’s decision to choose the Bears over Las Vegas. Here’s a partial transcript of Anderson’s report, with regard to Johnson, the Bears and Raiders.

“Let’s get right to the news, that Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. Obviously, yours truly put out the news first that he was deeply considering this job, and I wanted to talk just a little bit about how that came about, at least as far as when I heard it and how I heard it when it comes to the timing. So, this morning I get a call from a league source basically saying that the coaching carousel was being held up with Ben Johnson’s decision, namely in the Las Vegas Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars; and the domino effect of everything that would be coming after that was being held up.

“And then, I got a text from a few people letting me know that the buzz was warming up, which led me to put my tweet out there. And then subsequently after that I got the text that they were in talks and in contract negotiations for sure. And didn’t get a chance to tweet that as I was on the phone, but was actually on the phone with another high-level league source at the time, while I was getting that text.

“But what I heard about this situation that I find very interesting is that Bears general manager Ryan Poles basically said everything he needed to say in order to make Ben, to whomever, to make Ben Johnson feel comfortable about the situation. And it’s also my belief that Johnson feels confident enough in what will be his influence over the situation to ensure that he will have success in building the team in his image. So, basically his influence over the big picture, I think that’s the best way for me to word it, and just leave it at that. And basically, get it over the line, from anyone else that was in consideration.

“Just remember that this is the third time, obviously, that Ben Johnson has been down the aisle, and even a league source said this morning that they thought that he was going to jump, just based on their feel of things, and that Ben Johnson really knew that he had to get the situation right.

“And that kind of leads me into my conversation relative to the vacancy with the Las Vegas Raiders, because part of the reason why I put out that article, not only from what I was just hearing from sources but even my own, just assessment of the situation. I mean, when you just take a look at what at least I perceive to be Ben Johnson’s personality and the glare that is going to be on the Raiders team relative to the presence of minority owner Tom Brady, I just thought that that was going to be a lot. And it’s not to obviously say that Tom Brady’s not successful. It’s not to say that Tom Brady, obviously we know he has the knowledge. He’s earned the right to have a major thumbprint on the situation there. But that could also leave people to think, have questions, have concerns. I thought that that would be something that would be a factor. Thus, you know why I wrote what I wrote at the time.

“Also, just when you look at the division, honestly, we know what coaches are part of the AFC West. It’s not about the fact that Ben Johnson can’t match wits, with the head coaches that are in the AFC West, but when it comes to making a business decision, when you’re coming out in your first head-coaching job, it’s just, be smart. And, for someone of what I perceive his situation to be or what have you, I didn’t think in my opinion that it was the best situation for him. That is my opinion.

“And then, just the quarterback situation with Las Vegas; there’s just too many unknowns with Las Vegas. And Ben Johnson likes to work with veteran quarterbacks, at least people who have an idea of the flow of how it is, the way of life in the NFL, which is why at the time I said and still believe that the Jacksonville Jaguars situation is best suited for him. However, a league source has been saying to me for the last maybe couple weeks, maybe longer than that, ‘I promise you,’ they kept saying, ‘Watch out for Chicago. Watch out for Chicago. Chicago’s going to do something that’s going to shock.’  And, they were right. They were right.”

For more information on the Bears, Raiders or the NFL hiring cycle, visit the Chicago and Las Vegas team pages and the Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.


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By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

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