The Chicago Bears can get an early start on their potential upcoming head coach search by analyzing the opposing team's sideline this weekend against the Detroit Lions.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has emerged as the most appealing head coaching candidate in the upcoming cycle and is set to once again receive a lot of interest from teams looking for a new head coach.

Depending how the season finishes out, the Bears are widely expected to be one of those teams and could finally mix up the recent hiring tendencies that the franchise has shown over the past few cycles.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, several "league sources consider Johnson the most coveted candidate in this hiring cycle." It's easy to see why that could be the case.

Johnson was promoted as the Lions offensive coordinator in 2022 after serving on the team's offensive staff since 2019. It only took one year as the offensive coordinator for Johnson to begin receiving interest for head coaching opportunities elsewhere.

The Carolina Panthers in particular were highly interested in bringing Johnson in as their next head coach during the offseason before landing Frank Reich after Johnson chose to return to Detroit.

With another year under his belt coordinating one of the top offensive units in the NFL, Johnson should be ready to spread his wings and take the next step by moving up the coaching ladder. If he's ready to make the move, the Bears should definitely be interested.

The Bears are in dire need of a creative offensive mind who's able to mentor and develop a young quarterback, whether it's Justin Fields or an incoming rookie. The work Johnson has done over the past two seasons by reigniting Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been incredible.

In Goff's first season with the Lions in 2021, he averaged 231.8 passing yards per game with a 19-8 touchdown-interception ratio. In the last two seasons under Johnson, Goff has averaged 260+ passing yards per game with a 29-7 touchdown-interception ratio in 2022 and a 14-5 ratio through 10 weeks in 2023.

Johnson's resume and background fits the mold of what modern NFL teams are looking for in a new head coach. As Pelissero laid out in his annual piece: "In the six cycles since the Rams landed McVay in 2017, almost half of all head coaching hires league wide (20 of 42, 47.6%) have come from the same demographic — under age 45 with no previous NFL head coaching experience."

Johnson falls within this criteria as he's 37-years-old and has no prior experience working as a head coach. This formula has paid off for multiple teams bringing in a new head coach matching this criteria. Just look in the Bears own division with Matt LaFleur on the Green Bay Packers and Kevin O'Connell on the Minnesota Vikings.

Johnson would break the mold set by the Bears coaches that have been hired in the past, but maybe it's time to shake things up. The Bears need an exciting young coach willing to breathe some energy into the franchise and having him work alongside a young quarterback can help bring an end to the developmental struggles that young passers have faced in Chicago.

He'll certainly be an intriguing candidate to keep an eye on and Bears fans will have another firsthand look on how creative his system truly is later this weekend.

Bears set for formidable challenge against Lions’ young weapons

Can they rise up to the challenge?