Black Monday is a day that many employees in the NFL dread every year. The day we get the most news about which coaches have been fired from their respective teams. It’s a day we shouldn’t forget, it’s an incredibly human day. It’s not just head coaches who are being laid off, but entire employees. It represents a complete upheaval for families across the league. I like to remember things like that before just talking about the head coaching hiring cycle. Not only are you trying to make numbers work, you’re also talking about lives and livelihoods.

However, several organizations now require a head coach and may begin interviewing coaching candidates (some are already underway).

One of those teams is the Chicago Bears, who ended their 10-game losing streak and 11-game losing streak against the Packers in the final week of the season on Sunday. In rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ first appearance at Lambeau Field, he accomplished a feat that had become so elusive for the franchise. Of course not alone. A game-ending field goal situation was handled appropriately, and credit goes to interim coach Thomas Brown, who secured his first win as Bears coach. General manager Ryan Poles said Brown will receive an extensive, formal interview for the permanent job as the Bears begin the search for their 19th head coach.

Another name that was at the top of most Bears fans’ wish lists, however, is someone whose team isn’t quite done playing football yet: Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. With Detroit clinching first place along with the NFC North in a Week 18 thriller against the Minnesota Vikings, Johnson will have a little more time with the first-round bye. Teams can interview him (along with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) virtually starting Wednesday and must complete those interviews by Jan. 13 under the NFL’s new recruiting cycle rules.

The Bears have reportedly already expressed interest in interviewing Johnson, and why wouldn’t they? Johnson led the league’s highest-scoring offense, with Detroit averaging nearly 33 points per game during the regular season.

Johnson’s offenses have become the gold standard over the past two seasons. He is devilish in his style of play and draws new wrinkles every week. His players also seem to have it easy Fun play for him. He asks them to do some wild things like asking right tackle Penei Sewell to throw a pass or catch a pass, do a fake reverse, run a block or play left tackle. The plans Johnson devised for “Sonic and Knuckles,” aka Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, resulted in both players reaching more than 1,000 scrimmage yards, despite Monty getting injured along the way. Gibbs started walking four touchdowns in the season finale. Johnson draws inspiration from everywhere, including broken pieces that ended up working. In the Bears’ last game against them, Johnson called a fake fumble play in which Goff intentionally stumbled, Gibbs hit the deck and players called “fumble” while tight end Sam LaPorta ran out and caught a wide-open touchdown.

Johnson got it from Chicago’s game against the Packers in 2023, in which quarterback Jordan Love actually fumbled the football but froze the linebackers long enough for Packers tight end Luke Musgrave to be able to go wide, and Love still got the score.

Things like that are why Johnson will be the hottest head coaching candidate this cycle, should he even decide to leave (which is still a question). If). Chicago would be stupid not to pursue him.

Not only does this make sense for the Bears, but Chicago is also Johnson’s best option.

Johnson would take over the development of Williams, the team’s first overall pick in 2024. Despite recording the most sacks of any quarterback in the league, Williams still managed an impressive season statistically. His 3,451 passing yards are the fifth-most of any Bears quarterback of all time. His 20 touchdowns this season are the most since Mitch Trubisky’s 24 in 2018 and the 12th-most of any quarterback in franchise history. Williams only threw six interceptions.

More than just Bears history, Williams’ numbers join the annals of rookie quarterbacks across the league. During the broadcast, a stat chart flashed on the screen showing that Williams ranked first in touchdown-to-interception ratio among the 28 quarterbacks drafted first since 1967. His completion percentage of 62.5% ranks fourth.

Such a child? Johnson can work with that. He’s already gotten the best out of quarterback Jared Goff, who was sent to Detroit as consolation for the Rams’ trade for Matthew Stafford. Goff was all but given up and yet Goff ranked second in completion percentage that season. So did his 4,629 passing yards. His EPA/dropback of 0.25 also ranked second in the league according to Next Gen Stats. Goff not only enabled the Lions’ powerful offense, he also directed it. A lot of it has to do with the plan Johnson came up with and the tools he equipped Goff with. Goff was simply a more confident and efficient quarterback under Johnson. He recognizes defenses better and copes better under pressure. It was enough to sign him to a contract extension last offseason that would pay him up to $212 million. Based on average contract value, Goff is the sixth-highest paid quarterback.

Imagine if Johnson did that with his second contract for Williams.

Williams alone should entice Johnson, but the Bears are no longer the only team with a promising young quarterback under center. The New England Patriots made the surprising decision on Sunday to release Jerod Mayo after just one season — and didn’t even wait until Black Monday to do it. According to Spotrac, the Patriots will also have the most cap space in the league in 2025 at just over $130 million. In his final game as head coach, Mayo knocked the Patriots out of the first overall pick with the win, although New England will still be in the top five. But you could argue that their roster needs more than the Bears’.

Additionally, Chicago itself is expected to have $80 million in cap space this offseason, ranking sixth. They will also have eight draft picks, including four in the top 100.

The Bears also signed guys like wide receiver DJ Moore and tight end Cole Kmet to long-term contracts. Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze is under team control along with Williams until 2028. There is still work to be done along the offensive line. If we know what to do with Johnson’s time in Detroit, there will also need to be reinforcements at running backs. But it’s a good group to work with.

Defensively, the Bears have some needs upfront, but when everyone is healthy, the linebacker room and secondary are comparable to Detroit’s. When you compare that to what the Patriots need (offensive line, receivers, running backs, edge rushers, linebackers, defensive backs), Chicago seems to be the path of least resistance in my opinion.

Johnson is also already familiar with the division. This is important for someone who spends so much time playing chess with his opponents. Johnson throws impossible looks and tricks every game. He picks things about his opponent to exploit and does it better than almost anyone else. With minimal upheaval in the department, Johnson could have already had all the knowledge.

Johnson makes sense for the Bears, but more than that, the Bears make sense for Johnson. The only question now is whether Chicago’s leadership is willing to compete for the hottest head coaching candidate on the market – and wait. Johnson won’t come cheap and the Bears aren’t known for their generosity.

They also have a unique hierarchy within the organization. Not only would Johnson report to the Poles, but in addition to ownership, he would also report to team president Kevin Warren.

But from an on-field perspective, Johnson and the Bears appear to be the best fit of the available jobs.

Carmen Vitali is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stints at The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, adding Super Bowl champion (and boat parade participant) to her resume. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

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