Bear Digest

Chicago Bears blame will be apparent if Ben Johnson pursuit fails

Analysis: The Bears finished interviewing Ben Johnson Saturday and now if they lose him to some flashy competition they will know exactly who to blame.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ben Johnson talks to linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin at Lions training camp.
Ben Johnson talks to linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin at Lions training camp. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Chicago Bears

Again, it seems the lack of aggressive leadership at the top is coming back to bite the Bears.

While owner George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren stood around talking about how the Bears job is the best available this week, the top candidates somehow failed to get this message.

As Mike Vrabel nears a signing in New England, now Tom Brady's influence has provided the Raiders with sufficient allure to make Ben Johnson's decision much tougher than the Bears or Jacksonville. It would surprise no one if he opted for Las Vegas even if it meant he is competing each season against the two-time world champions and Patrick Mahomes, as well as Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton.

The Bears finished their interview with Johnson Saturday and it might take a while before anything more involving him comes out as the Lions are going to be in the playoffs until next weekend at the earliest and most likely for another week after that or later.

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Then again, some people don't want to wait.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Bears are going to find the Raiders are in this pursuit of Johnson for the long haul if they can't secure Brady's buddy Mike Vrabel. And doing that seems unlikely. Also, it's been reported by NFL Network that Brady is personally recruiting Johnson.

Let's see, George McCaskey or Tom Brady. ... Hmmm. Tough decision.

Apparently Johnson and others just didn't get the memo about how great the Bears job is.

Once again aggressive and forward-thinking teams are stepping up while the Bears are interviewing everyone with a resume and the internet, and including everyone at Halas Hall in the interview process except maybe equipment manager Tony Medlin. The Raiders are threatening to leave the hesitant, slow-moving Bears with secondary options in the coaching hunt and that's usually what they accept.

The Bears could have gained a quick advantage with Vrabel by interviewing him last week, although there's no doubt he eventually could have found his way to New England to interview out of respect to his former team. 

On Saturday, it almost seemed like a face-saving measure as word leaked out while Johnson completed his Bears interview that the team will now interview former Bears defensive coordinator and linebacker Ron Rivera.

Considering Rivera was with the team the only two times they played in the Super Bowl, he's got that going for him, which is nice.

But Rivera's time as a head coach might be at an end, as he didn't have a single winning record over the course of his final six seasons in the NFL as head coach with Carolina and Washington. Admittedly, the Commander ownership situation made it extremely difficult for him, but in the NFL they want to know what you've done lately and not a decade or so ago.

This Rivera interest seems more like a courtesy interview if not an attempt to placate the meatball section of Bears fans. This won't work, of course, because even the older 1980s era Ditka classification of fans are so sick of losing that they don't see someone older and possibly out of touch with what's going on in the NFL now as an answer even if the guy had orange and blue blood.

There is only one color that matters in this coaching hire now for the Bears if they want Johnson.

It's green. And George McCaskey is already paying a lot for the next two years to Matt Eberflus.

Maybe he'll decide he saved enough money on that tax break in Arlington Heights to devote more to hiring the actual No. 1 choice for head coach available in this coaching search.

Seeing McCaskey outbid Mark Davis and Tom Brady for a head coach should be entertaining, so settle in and maybe start a go-fund-me page for George as he tries to sweat out the impossible task.

Maybe he should rethink that decision to fly in candidates first class. It costs a lot more and he can use the money to ward off the marauding Raiders.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.