Bears next HC after firing Matt Eberflus is obvious, but will they pay up?

It was only a matter of time before the Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus, but most people assumed it would come after the 2024 season. The Bears -- in the extensive history of their franchise -- have never fired a head coach in the middle of a season. That all changed on Black Friday after Ebeflus completely mismanaged an end-of-game situation on the road against the Detroit Lions.

The Bears had more than 30 seconds remaining as well as a timeout, and only had to gain a few yards to get into reasonable field goal range. Somehow, as Caleb Williams was struggling to grasp the gravity of the situation and every second slowly ticking off the clock, the Bears' chances of winning the game completely evaporated.

The Bears are now 4-8. They have fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and they've fired head coach Matt Eberflus. The question of who is the best candidate to be the team's next head coach could not be more obvious, but will the Bears organization actually pony up the cash for Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson?

Bears need to pay whatever it takes to get Ben Johnson from the Lions

The Bears have an attractive enough situation right now to lure offensive coordinator Ben Johnson away from his rather cushy gig with the Detroit Lions. The Lions could end up winning the Super Bowl this year and Johnson has stuck arond in Detroit despite significant interest elsewhere to do exactly that.

Regardless of what happens with the Lions this season, it feels like Johnson is poised to become one of the highest-paid head coaches in the NFL next season, if only because there will be such a high demand for his services. And there are a lot of great head coach candidates out there, including Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel, but Johnson's offensive expertise is going to be particularly attractive to a team like Chicago with a young star in the making at QB.

Johnson is the perfect candidate to come in and help Caleb Williams succeed, but the Bears are going to have to break the stigma that they are too cheap or that they draw a hard line in the sand in terms of price. They need to be willing to hand Johnson a blank check and let him get to work.

This is not to say there are no other candidates that could make sense for Chicago. There are other offensive-minded head coach candidates who would be set up well. But this is a great situation for someone like Johnson, even if it is in the same division he's currently coaching in.

You've got a #1 overall pick at QB and obviously a rookie contract at that position for the next four years. You've got a defense that has played pretty darn well this season (and last year). You've got outstanding weapons offensively. You're poised to have some nice NFL Draft capital.

This is a tailor-made situation for Johnson to have long-term success as an NFL head coach, but the price has got to be right. We'll see if the Bears are willing to fork over the cash.