Ben Johnson ideal for Caleb Williams? How soon can Bears contend? 5 burning questions

The conference championship games will take place Sunday in Kansas City and Philadelphia, but the Bears grabbed the NFL headlines Monday by hiring Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as head coach.

It didn't come as a surprise that Chicago finally hired a new head coach. That's been expected since the club fired Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving. What came as a bit of a shocker was who the Bears landed — the most coveted coach in this cycle.

Like all hires, only time will tell how it ages. But for the time being, it feels like a big day in the Windy City.

The Bears are one of the most iconic franchises in the NFL, and they play in one of its biggest and most football-obsessed markets. More important to the here and now, they'll be pairing last year's No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, with the architect of one of the league's best offenses these past few years. It's understandable if Bears fans are giddy about the future.

To weigh in on what that could look like in Chicago, we asked Carmen Vitali and David Helman to assess various aspects of the Johnson hire.

1. How do you like Ben Johnson's fit with Caleb Williams? What will be the biggest adjustment each will need to make for each other?

Vitali: From this standpoint, the hiring of Ben Johnson should be a slam dunk. Johnson has brought out the best in Jared Goff in three years as his coordinator. After posting a 45.5 QBR in his first year in Detroit in 2021, a career low for a full season, Goff's been in the 60s three straight years, including a career-high 68.4 this season while leading the Lions to a franchise-record 15 wins. From being given up on by the Rams to being in the MVP conversation in 2024, what Johnson has done for Goff's career cannot be