Someone asked Raiders head coach Pete Carroll for a scouting report on Bears quarterback Caleb Williams this week, confident that he had followed his career because of their shared USC ties.
‘‘I did watch him a lot,’’ Carroll said. ‘‘And watched him a lot looking at that job, too.’’
Before Carroll was hired by the Raiders to become the oldest head coach in NFL history — he turned 74 this month — he was one of the Bears’ best-known interviewees. The team met with at least 17 candidates in January before landing Ben Johnson. Few came with the cachet of Carroll, who met with them Jan. 9.
The Bears’ marriage to Johnson was the first choice of both parties. Johnson told the Bears in his first Zoom interview that he wanted the job, and he was the consensus choice of the Bears’ brass.
In another world, however, it might have been Carroll, who won a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Seahawks and has 11 playoff victories.
On Sunday in Las Vegas, Johnson will have to figure him out.
As much as the Bears brass’ is happy with the culture Johnson is building at Halas Hall, the team needs victories. On game days, Johnson is at a decided disadvantage in terms of NFL experience. Four of the next five head coaches Johnson will face have made the Super Bowl as a head coach: Carroll, the Commanders’ Dan Quinn, the Ravens’ John Harbaugh and the Bengals’ Zac Taylor.
Johnson was particularly wowed by the fact that, in nine seasons at USC and 18 full seasons in the NFL, Carroll only has posted four losing seasons. The 1-2 Raiders would make it five if they continue to struggle this season.
‘‘That’s a credit to who he is,’’ said Johnson, who doesn’t know Carroll well personally. ‘‘The teams take his identity. They play hard, they play fast, they play physical, they fly around and I know that he’ll have this group ready to go here this week. We’ve got to answer that call.’’
It’s fascinating to consider what the Bears would look like had they hired Carroll and taken his identity.
Johnson, 39, is considered one of the NFL’s up-and-coming offensive minds; Carroll is a CEO-style head coach rooted in defense. Johnson developed a mid-career Jared Goff into one of the most steady quarterbacks in the league; Carroll parlayed a young Russell Wilson and his cheap rookie contract into Super Bowl appearances in back-to-back seasons. Carroll’s public persona is that of a cool, gum-chewing uncle; Johnson’s burning intensity is never too far behind his eyes.
‘‘[Johnson has] got a really nice system; you can see it already coming through,’’ Carroll told Raiders reporters this week. ‘‘Coach Ben has done a nice job teaching these guys what he believes is important on offense. You can see there’s a lot of changes from where they were last year.’’
Carroll has been particularly impressed by Johnson’s aggressiveness. Through three weeks, only four teams have thrown more passes of 20 or more yards than the Bears’ 11. Williams, who won a Heisman Trophy at the same school where Carroll won a national title, has stood out to Carroll.
‘‘He’s a very, very special athlete,’’ Carroll said. ‘‘He’s got great sense and great awareness about throwing the football and running the football. He’ll be a prolific scrambler by the time we check out his years. He’s really good at it and throws really well on the run, too.
‘‘Caleb can do whatever you want him to do, so he’s a very dangerous player to play against.’’
For the first time in his career, Johnson has momentum after the Bears beat the Cowboys by 17 points in Week 3.
In the desert, however, that can prove to be a mirage.
‘‘It was a terrific win for them [last week], and they get to try to make that turn,’’ Carroll said. ‘‘Big wins are just as difficult to come back from as big losses.’’