The Lions’ Sunday night win against the Vikings guaranteed them a bye in Round 1 of the playoffs — and clarified the Bears’ interview timeline.
The Bears are expected to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn this week. NFL rules state the interviews must be done virtually and must be conducted between Wednesday and the end of the final Round 1 playoff game Monday.
Johnson’s Lions finished first in the NFL with 33.2 points per game and second in the NFL with 409.5 yards per game. Glenn’s defense withstood a barrage of injuries to allow 20.1 points per game, the seventh-fewest in the NFL.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams praised Johnson, saying that he was impressed by his play-calling both in games against the Bears and Sunday night against the Vikings.
“I think he’s obviously done really well,” he said Monday. “It’d be cool to see how that all goes down.”
The Bears cannot interview anyone employed by another NFL team in person until Jan. 20. They must abide by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which mandates that they interview two people of color and/or women for the position in person. Those rules mean the Bears’ coaching search is likely to take weeks.
Monday marked the first day that the Bears were allowed to send out formal interview requests to coaches employed by NFL teams. One name on the list, per NFL Network: Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He has one year’s worth of experience as a play-caller after working as an assistant with the Browns and Vikings.
The Bears will interview interim head coach Thomas Brown, likely this week.
“Having a chance to lay out my whole vision, the plan I have for this football team moving forward is going to be a part of it,” he said Monday. “But I think them having a chance to see me in the building is something that to me should be more impressive than everything else.”
Defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker praised former Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who seems more likely headed toward the Patriots, for whom he played. Walker, who played for Vrabel in Tennessee, said “a lot of [BS] is gonna be cut out” if Vrabel were to be hired.
“A lot of those small things that we were doing and got away with, that won’t happen,” he said.
The Bears also requested an interview with former St. Rita and Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka, per NFL Network. The Giants offensive coordinator worked with general manager Ryan Poles when they were with the Chiefs.
The Lions beat the Vikings 31-9 on Sunday night to clinch first in the NFC and earn a first-round bye. The Chiefs earned a bye in the AFC.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift, who played with the Lions from 2020-22, called the two assistants elite last week.
“Hell of a bunch of coaches,” Swift said. “I obviously can tell they have the respect on their side of the ball. As far as head coaches, I don’t know how that would look. In terms of me being there and seeing how they led their group, they did a phenomenal job.”
Glenn’s defense hasn’t been as dominant as that of Vikings coordinator Brian Flores, but has a wide range of experience. He played cornerback for 14 years before joining the Jets as a scout from 2012-13. He was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Browns and defensive backs coach for the Saints before joining the Lions as defensive coordinator in 2021.
Johnson, 38, is the hottest assistant coordinator candidate. He’s been the Lions’ play-caller since the middle of the 2021 season and has helped oversee one of the sport’s most dramatic turnarounds.
Johnson is intrigued by Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. The question is whether that’s enough to jump to a head coaching job after he spent the last two offseasons declining job offers.
He interviewed for five coaching jobs last offseason and eventually withdrew from the Commanders and Seahawks searches. Commanders executives were traveling to meet with him when they found out.
“I think there’s a burning desire in every man to find what he’s made out of, push the limits and see if you’ve got what it takes,” Johnson said last month. “There’s a fire there.
“Now when that time is, I don’t know when that will be.”