Report: Bears CEO Kevin Warren 'enamored' with coach not named Ben Johnson

Poles reportedly likes Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, one of the more sought-after candidates in the league this hiring cycle. The Bears interviewed him on Saturday.

But it’s unclear how Johnson feels about Chicago, and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Tom Brady, is doing all he can to convince Johnson to move to the desert.

With Mike Vrabel in New England and the Bears not No. 1 on Johnson’s list, Warren has another “leader of men” in mind for the Bears.

Per George Ofman, Warren is “enamored” with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

Freeman is set to lead No. 7 seed Notre Dame against No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20.

The 39-year-old head coach signed a contract extension this season that will pay him approximately $9M-10M per year. If the Bears hired Freeman, they would have to beat the figure. It’s unclear if Freeman has a buyout with the Irish, or how much it would be, but given his annual fee it wouldn’t likely be cheap.

Warren appears to value experience and success as a head coach (even if at the college level) while Poles is more willing to take a risk on a top offensive mind for his young quarterback, even if there are questions about Johnson’s leadership capabilities.