Albert Breer provides insights into Ben Johnson’s choice to select the Bears.
At the start of the hiring process, the Jacksonville Jaguars focused on Ben Johnson to occupy their coaching position. Even though there seemed to be shared interest, he ultimately decided on the Chicago Bears. It ultimately went well for the Jags, as they secured Liam Coen. With that in mind, Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated recently provided information regarding the entire situation, explaining why Johnson eventually ended up in the Windy City.
Breer recently discussed Jacksonville’s coaching search, highlighting how Trent Baalke significantly influenced Johnson’s choice to join the Bears.
To simplify this, the true expense of the Jaguars’ management of this issue is the individual currently serving as the head coach in Chicago. I believe that Ben Johnson was very enthusiastic about the Jaguars’ position—enthusiastic enough to interview with Jacksonville even prior to them parting ways with Baalke. Jacksonville had a strong interest in Johnson as well, to the point of considering a lucrative proposal. Ultimately, I’m uncertain if Johnson intended to push Baalke out to reach that point. Thus, Johnson selected the Chicago Bears instead of the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Jaguars proceeded forward.
In his column, Breer mentions that Aaron Glenn, who was also considered for the position and ultimately joined the New York Jets, raised the idea of bringing along his own front-office executive. Nonetheless, Baalke wasn’t pleased with the concept as it could have impacted his trusted aide Tom Gamble. The remainder of the narrative is well-recorded:
After Johnson accepted the Chicago position, the Jags pursued Coen. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proposed a new contract that would have ranked him among the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL, they let Baalke go to persuade him to take their open position.
It functioned well for the Jaguars and Ben Johnson (but not for Trent Baalke).
The Jacksonville Jaguars would have been excited if they had brought on Ben Johnson to succeed Doug Pederson, who was let go after not reaching the playoffs in the last two seasons. Nonetheless, they succeeded in securing Liam Coen, who was also a key target for them.
And be clear, Coen was far from a second choice. Although he didn’t attract as much attention as Johnson, he definitely caught eyes for his role as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year.
In addition to aiding Baker Mayfield in achieving a career season, Coen transformed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from one of the league’s worst teams in 2023 to one of the top 5 last year. In simple terms, he dedicated himself to gaining attention for head-coaching positions. That’s the reason no one was surprised when the Jags made a significant effort to acquire him.
One might argue that Coen’s initial press conference lacked inspiration, and it would be reasonable to adjust your expectations given the Jaguars’ trajectory over the last two decades. That being mentioned, the ex-Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator has done sufficient work to suggest that possibly, just possibly, he can guide the team correctly and transform Jacksonville into a consistent competitor.
At this point, the Jaguars might come to regret not putting in more effort to hire Johnson, but it’s premature to judge. Maybe if the Bears end up winning multiple Super Bowls, they’ll experience some regret. However, for now, they should be thrilled about securing one of the leading candidates from the most recent hiring cycle, and one factor that enabled this was allowing Trent Baalke to leave.
