On Monday, news broke that the Chicago Bears were hiring Ben Johnson as their new head coach.
On Tuesday, it became official. The Bears introduced Johnson virtually on social media, then in person at Halas Hall. Johnson made his first public appearance as head coach at Bears headquarters to a warm reception. With general manager Ryan Poles behind him, Johnson walked into the lobby as staffers lined up to greet him with cheers and applause.
Johnson then addressed the building while flanked by his wife, Jessica, and their three children.
“My family and I, we are beyond excited,” Johnson said. “This is exactly where we wanted to be. It’s exactly where we wanted to be.
“This is going to be a challenge. I’m well aware of that. I know what this division’s about. And this is exactly where we want to be. We’re gonna go after this thing, and it’s gonna take all of us in this room.
“It’s gonna take this locker room. It’s nothing more important than that locker room and us serving that locker room and those players. They need to understand that, they need to feel that from us every single day.”
Johnson then promised what’s eluded the Bears for so long and what he’s now tasked to produce.
“If we do that, the wins are gonna come,” Johnson continued. “The playoffs are gonna come.”
Can Johnson turn Bears into winners?
Johnson directly addressed the set of challenges he’ll face in his first year in Chicago. The Bears pulled up the rear this season in an NFC North that produced three playoff teams in the Vikings, Packers and Johnson’s former Lions. While they tallied a collective total of zero wins when they got to the postseason, there’s reason to believe each of those teams will remain in the playoff hunt next season.
The Bears collapsed from a 4-2 start to a 5-12 record as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams regressed late in the season. Meanwhile, the league’s other rookie starting quarterbacks Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Bo Nix thrived to varying degrees as Daniels and Nix made the playoffs. It added up to the dismissal of head coach Matt Eberflus, paving the way for Johnson’s arrival.
Touted as an offensive genius for the work he did as Detroit’s offensive coordinator, Johnson will be expected to develop Williams into the quarterback and leader of a perennial playoff team. Anything short of that will be deemed a failure.
There’s reasonable cause for hope in Chicago that he can succeed. While Williams regressed as a rookie, he also flashed the upside that made him the No. 1 pick while throwing 20 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first season in the NFL. The pairing of Williams with a coach hailed as one of football’s preeminent offensive minds is certainly reason enough to stand and applaud at Halas Hall.
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