Ben Johnson had his choice of several jobs. He chose the Bears.

Not only do they have a quarterback to build around, but Johnson also noted they are in a division with which he is familiar. Johnson spent six seasons in the NFC North as an assistant under Dan Campbell.

“I know this is the toughest division of football right now,” Johnson said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “There’s three teams that made the playoffs this year. I’ve got tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and the players in this league having competed against them for the last six years. Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell, talking about two guys that are up for coach the year awards as the season ends here. And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”

Campbell, the Lions coach, and O’Connell, the Vikings coach, are favorites for NFL coach of the year. LaFleur has led the Packers to four double-digit win seasons in his six years as head coach, with two different quarterbacks.

The Lions swept the Packers two of the past three seasons but were only 6-6 against Green Bay in Johnson’s time in Detroit.

LaFleur is 11-1 against the Bears since becoming the Packers’ head coach.

Johnson begins at the bottom of a good division.

The NFC North sent three teams to the playoffs this season, though the Packers, Vikings and Lions went 0-3. It was only the second time since 1970 that a division sent three teams to the playoffs and came up empty once they got there.