Just because someone has been there, done that doesn't mean their worth more.
I had the over so I really didn't care who won as long as both teams kept scoring.
Any other team could have had McCarthy as well. It's not even a little concerning to someone like you, who is so skeptical of the Bears organization that they were the only team so high on McCarthy? He's still a candidate for the Saints job, the only HC position left open, but they haven't pulled the trigger on him.
True. Past success can help pad a coach's current value, but it isn't the driver. The driver of their value is their perceived potential for current and future success.
Nobody is more accomplished than Bill Belichick, but he had almost no value on the NFL market because no team saw enough reason to offer him a head job for $2 million, much less $15 million.
I would even project that Pete Carroll will be making less than Johnson because, while Carroll is obviously more accomplished, Johnson was the more sought after candidate, and thus can demand and expect more money. Carroll has a better pedigree, but I think most teams would have preferred Johnson simply because they project him out to be more successful in the near and long term going forward.
Whether Johnson will actually be successful or flame out spectacularly is anyone's guess, but there is no doubt that he had more "value" or upside to many NFL teams even compared to coaches with Super Bowls on their resume.
