‘Nasty business’ – Chicago Bears stole Ben Johnson from Detroit to cause Lions fans even more pain

This is not what the Chicago Bears normally do.

Get the guy.

Hire the head coach that everyone else wants -- including NFL GOAT Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders -- and instantly please a long-frustrated fanbase.

But that's exactly what the Bears did when they stole Ben Johnson away from Brady's Raiders and several other teams circling the hottest name on the open market.

"I didn't have to go to Wikipedia to look up a coaching prospect," Adam Hoge, Chicago Bears insider and podcaster, exclusively told talkSPORT's .

"There's guys you know, but you still need to look up their résumé.

"We know Ben Johnson. At this point, pretty much everyone does with what he's done with the Lions."

Prying Johnson away from Detroit was the even bigger coup for the Bears.

Not only did Chicago hire a 38-year-old offensive coordinator who's a master of constant scoring and trick plays, but the Bears gained a coach the Lions have been afraid to lose for two years.

Chicago and Detroit are guaranteed to play each other twice a year in the NFC North, which featured three playoff teams (Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Lions) last year and was topped by an NFC-best Detroit squad that went 15-2.

The Bears added their dream head coach, while taking away one of the Lions' best assets -- and kept Johnson in the same super-tough division.

"Staying in the NFC North is nasty business," one fan tweeted.

Before Johnson became a new Detroit head coach set to reportedly make $13 million a year, Hoge believes that Johnson was already better than anyone coaching on the Bears' sideline.

"If I were to ask you who was the fourth best coach in the division behind the Packers, Vikings, and Lions ... you would have said Ben Johnson," Hoge said.

"That fourth person definitely wasn't on the Bears. And so they went out and got that next best guy that's already in the division and made them the head coach.

"There's no learning curve. ... When you hire a coach from the other conference -- especially when you only see these teams every four years -- it does make a difference. You got to put more work into learning your opponents, especially when you're an offensive head coach.

"So I think that's a major advantage and one of the real big bonus factors that the Bears get in this hire."

Johnson will now be paired with Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft who threw for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns as a rookie.

Last season, Johnson helped turn the Lions' Jared Goff into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league, while Detroit produced the top scoring offense (33.2 points) in the NFL.

The Bears went 5-12 last season and haven't won a playoff game since 2010, so Johnson has serious work to do in Chicago.

But in the week after Detroit was knocked out of the playoffs and an apologetic Campbell shed tears, the Bears collected a huge NFC North win by stealing away the Lions' offensive genius.

By bringing Johnson to Chicago, the Bears won the Super Bowl of the offseason coaching market.

"It's hard to argue with what the Bears did here," Hoge said.

"It's unlike them to go out and so aggressively get this guy before he even does an in-person interview.

"Spending what sounds about (13) million dollars is different.

"I think that's what's part of this excitement is -- just the Bears operated differently."