Ben Johnson did such a good job coordinating the Lions’ offense that he was hired as head coach of the Bears, and now coaches against the Lions twice a year. Johnson knows the Lions’ offense well, and he says they’ve found the right man to run it in new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
Johnson and Petzing are close friends, and Johnson says Lions head coach Dan Campbell couldn’t have hired a better offensive coordinator than Petzing.
“I think he’s going to blow those players away just from a knowledge standpoint, from a connection standpoint,” Johnson told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I fully expect that offense to be clicking at a high level next year. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, and I think there’s a reason why Dan, from what I could gather, cast a wide net for the offensive coordinator job and Drew hit the right notes in terms of what he was looking for. That doesn’t surprise me. I could see this being a great fit knowing Dan and knowing Drew both. I think it’s probably a match made in heaven.”
Johnson expects the Bears’ defense to have its hands full against the Lions’ offense.
“I think what Drew does is, or at least what he showed in Arizona is he’s going to put his best players in a chance to showcase what they do,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a really smart decision by Dan. It’s going to be hopefully not too big of a headache on us, but I see it being a really good match.”
Johnson has coached the NFC North champion for three straight years, as head coach of the Bears in 2025 and as offensive coordinator of the Lions in 2023 and 2024. He thinks Petzing makes his quest for four in a row harder.
The Bears have stumbled into a perfect situation, and they’re listening to both of their primary suitors for a new stadium.
Last week, the Bears and Indiana said progress is being made on building a new stadium there. The announcement caught Illinois by surprise.
Now, Indiana may be surprised.
“We continue to work with Illinois’ leadership and appreciate the progress being made,” Bears CEO Kevin Warren said over the weekend in a statement shared with Crain’s Chicago Business.
The statement applies a little extra pressure to Indiana, as it enters the final week of its annual legislative session. And it leaves the door open for Illinois to avoid losing the Bears across the border.
It’s a win either way for the Bears. They want the best possible deal, which usually entails getting the most free money.
The maneuverings are happening in an age when taxpayers would overwhelmingly vote “no” to any ballot measure that subsidizes multibillion-dollar businesses with public funding. But there’s usually a way for the people who have been elected by the people to make these deals.
Either Indiana or Illinois will be making a deal. And the Bears are currently working one against the other in the hopes of getting the best possible deal.
Even if the best possible outcome seems impossible at this point — the Bears staying in downtown Chicago.
When cornerback Nahshon Wright was released by the Vikings in April, there weren’t a lot of thoughts that he’d end the season in the Pro Bowl.
That’s what wound up happening, however. Wright signed with the Bears and became a starter for the NFC North champions. He had 80 tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in the regular season and then helped the team to the divisional round of the playoffs.
Wright’s campaign left him heading into free agency on a high note and he was asked on SiriusXM NFL Radio about whether he’ll be prioritizing money or fit when it comes time to sign his next deal.
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” Wright said. “Obviously you want to be taken care of financially, but there’s the part where you still want to be able to compete on a high level. I think for me, honestly I like to play in more of an aggressive style of football. I haven’t done any deep dives into what teams kinda play similar to what we did in Chicago, but obviously I had a great season in Chicago due to the way we played. I would love to be back in Chicago, but I don’t necessarily know exactly what’s gonna happen.”
Wright said conversations with the Bears haven’t gotten to the point of contract details at this point, but he expects that to come with his agent set to meet with the team next week. If the Bears don’t re-sign him ahead of free agency, Wright figures to be a popular target for teams looking for help in their defensive backfield.
The Bears appear to be playing Indiana and Illinois against each other as they attempt to get state taxpayers’ help in building a new stadium. And today the Bears appear to be heading toward Indiana.
After the team and the governor of Indiana both put out statements saying they’re making progress on an agreement to build a stadium, the Illinois governor’s office put out a statement saying that was news to Illinois.
Matt Hill, a spokesman for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, wrote on social media that as recently as yesterday, the Bears were representing to Illinois that things were heading in the right direction to pass a bill in the Illinois General Assembly that would keep the team in the state.
“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” Hill wrote. “After a productive three hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois.”
The Bears have attempted to get taxpayer support to remain in Illinois, either with a new stadium at the same site as Soldier Field, or in the suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois, about 30 miles away. The proposed stadium site in Hammond, Indiana, is about 20 miles away.
The Bears have filled their vacancy at assistant General Manager with an internal promotion.
Chicago announced on Thursday that Jeff King has been elevated to the role.
King has been working his way up the Bears personnel department since joining the club as a scouting intern in 2015.
“We congratulate Jeff on his elevation within our football operations department,” General Manager Ryan Poles said in a statement released by the team. “Jeff has earned this promotion through his commitment to our team and his excellence within our operation, as well as the positive impact that he has created throughout our organization. We look forward to Jeff’s continued leadership and contributions as we work toward building a sustained winner.”
King was a Panthers fifth-round pick in 2006 and played 108 games with 84 starts for Carolina and Arizona through the 2012 season. He caught 156 career passes for 1,323 yards with 12 touchdowns.
King spent the last two seasons as Chicago’s senior director of player personnel.
“I’m super lucky,” King said in a statement released by the team. “I’ve been here 12 years. That doesn’t happen. When I walked in here 12 years ago as an intern, I didn’t think it would go this far, but I’ve been very lucky and appreciative of this organization because it is special.
“I am honored to be able to continue representing the Chicago Bears organization, and I am thankful and appreciative to George H. McCaskey, the McCaskey family, Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles for their trust and belief in me. This is a special organization. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to grow and develop here, starting as an intern, and I look forward to continuing to help build our team as we work toward our collective pursuit of sustained excellence.”
King replaces Ian Cunningham, who departed the franchise to become Atlanta’s General Manager in January.
