Bears to interview Ben Johnson for head coach on Saturday

The Chicago Bears are in the middle of their head coach search, where there's a couple of names who have emerged as top candidates, including Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, widely considered the top candidate in this year's cycle.

According to FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz, the Bears will interview Johnson for their head coach job on Saturday. That's the same day they'll interview his counterpart, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, as the Lions have a bye week after locking down the NFC's No. 1 seed.

But the Bears will have some competition for Johnson, who is interviewing with a total of four teams -- Las Vegas Raiders (Friday), New England Patriots (Friday), Jacksonville Jaguars (Saturday) and Bears (Saturday).

Johnson has worked wonders with the Lions offense in three seasons, which this year is a top unit in the league -- averaging 33.2 points per game (1st), 409.5 yards per game (2nd), 6.2 yards per play (3rd), 263.2 passing yards per game (2nd) and 146.4 rushing yards per game (6th). But it's his work with quarterback Jared Goff that makes him an enticing option.

It's been reported that there's been a mutual interest between Johnson and the Bears, which makes sense considering Johnson's offensive prowess and Chicago having an exciting young quarterback in Caleb Williams. So we'll see if the Bears can lock him down, although this will only be a virtual interview as the Lions still have the playoffs ahead of them.

The Bears have requested interviews with 14 candidates, which includes assistant coaches, a current head coach, and former head coaches: Johnson, Glenn, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Arizona Cardinals Drew Petzing, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Flores, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, former Stanford head coach David Shaw, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. General manager Ryan Poles also confirmed Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown will get a formal interview for the permanent role.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears to interview Ben Johnson for head coach on Saturday