For the last week, the prevailing sentiment in the NFL was that Ben Johnson was being wooed from the Lions by Tom Brady to be the next head coach of the Raiders. Or maybe that he would want to go coach Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.

But as the now-former Lions offensive coordinator made his first appearance as the new coach of the Chicago Bears on Tuesday, he made it clear that the rival NFC North organization was his first choice of jobs. Kyle Austin of Mlive reports.

“My family and I, we were beyond excited,” Johnson said as he addressed Bears employees, in a video released by the team. “This is exactly where we wanted to be. This is exactly where we wanted to be.”

Johnson’s comments were the first since his hiring was reported on Monday, two days after the Lions fell to Washington in the divisional round of the playoffs.

In Chicago, Johnson takes over a franchise that went 5-12 in 2024 and has miss the playoffs for the last four seasons. He intimated in his comments that his time in Detroit has made him well-acquainted with Chicago and the challenge the Bears face.

“This is going to be a challenge, I’m well aware of that,” Johnson said. “I know what this division is about, and this is exactly where we wanted to be.”

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