Just now: Ben Johnson, the new head coach of the Bears, creates history unlike anything since Don Shula in 1963.

Ben Johnson, the Chicago Bears’ next head coach, will be expected to lead the team to success similar to that of Don Shula.

After the Detroit Lions were stunningly ousted from the NFL playoffs by the Washington Commanders on Saturday night, the Chicago Bears wasted little time attacking offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Following a regular season in which wins were incredibly difficult to come by, Chicago won an offseason victory on Monday afternoon when Johnson was hired to become the 18th full-time head coach in Bears franchise history.

Johnson becomes the first Detroit Lions coordinator to resign from his position for a head coaching position since 1963, when former defensive coordinator Don Shula left Detroit to become head coach of the Baltimore Colts. Johnson’s decision to accept the Bears’ offer is the culmination of more than 60 years of preparation. In 1961 and 1962, Shula served as Detroit’s defensive coordinator, guiding the Lions to two postseason trips. Shula led Detroit to a top-three scoring defense in both of those seasons.

When Shula replaced Weeb Ewbank in Baltimore at the age of 33, he became the NFL’s youngest head coach. After leading the Colts to two Championship Game trips, including Super Bowl III, when Baltimore lost to the New York Jets as 18-point favorites, Shula would go on to win 75% of his games as head coach. But after leaving Baltimore to become a coach in Miami, where he won consecutive Super Bowls in 1972 and 1973, Shula’s career took off.