Few players experienced the full spectrum of Chicago Bears coaching more than Devin Hester. He started his career with Lovie Smith, the best head coach the organization has had not named Mike Ditka in the Super Bowl era. They reached a Super Bowl together and had four winning seasons. Then Hester had to experience the significant downgrade that was Marc Trestman. So, one can understand why the Hall of Famer would be more critical of Bears hires than others after what he went through.
Hester carefully commented on previous head coaches like John Fox, Matt Nagy, and Matt Eberflus. He was respectful but never showed any outward emotions about any of them. One would expect the same kind of response regarding the Ben Johnson hire. Wrong. Kay Adams had a chance to speak with Hester on her Up & Adams show. She asked the Bears legend what he thought of the Johnson hire. Hester didn’t waste any time showing his clear excitement over the move. He believes Johnson’s offense is the key ingredient this team was missing.
Devin Hester continues to show his understanding of Bears football.
He was here during the good times in the mid-to-late 2000s. Those teams were defined by good defense and strong running games led by Thomas Jones and Matt Forte. It seems like the Bears lost that identity over the past few years. They haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since David Montgomery in 2020. Devin Hester knows this incoming draft class is loaded at the position. He fully expects Johnson and the Bears to add somebody, intending to balance out the offense and take pressure off of Caleb Williams’ shoulders. That is a big reason things worked so well in Detroit for Jared Goff. Together with a defense that has already shown it can be good, this team is poised for a big step forward in 2025. No wonder Hester is excited.
