Being synonymous with great offensive football is not something that has been the case for the Chicago Bears in a long time. The last time it was the case was in the 1940s when George Halas deployed the iconic T-formation with Sid Luckman and those great Bears teams. Since then, the organization seemed to regress into an offensive backwater, relying more on dominant defenses to carry them forward. It worked on occasion in 1963 and 1985, but was never sustainable. That is why fans have pushed for years to find an offensive wizard who can keep the team competitive. Did they finally find one with Ben Johnson?
Mike Martz sure thinks they did. Most people know the former head coach as the architect of the famed “Greatest Show on Turf,” an offense that set records for a brief window in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reaching two Super Bowls and winning one. Martz first became familiar with Johnson when they worked together in Miami. Even back then, the former coach sensed something in the young assistant. He’s only become more certain since then that Johnson is not just a great offensive mind, but destined for greatness.
He explained why on 670 The Score.
Martz isn’t crazy to make that declaration about Ben Johnson.
History says that the great offensive innovators in the NFL tend to have long, successful head coaching careers. It started with Sid Gillman in the 1950s and 1960s, producing a winning record ten times and winning an AFL championship in 1963. Then you had Don Coryell, who revolutionized the passing game and reached the playoffs six times in a nine-year span, including two AFC championships. Of course, there was Bill Walsh, architect of the West Coast offense, which won three Super Bowls. Then Mike Shanahan brought the wide-zone rushing scheme to the forefront in the 1990s and won two championships in Denver. Most recently, you have Andy Reid, with his many innovations, who won three Super Bowls in Kansas City, and Sean McVay, whose endless creativity led to a title in Los Angeles.
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At the very least, landing that coveted offensive genius leads to sustained playoff contention. If that coach then gets the right quarterback and a complementary defense, a championship typically happens. Martz knows this. He watched it unfold in St. Louis. He believes the Bears already have two key ingredients. They have the coach, Ben Johnson, and the quarterback, Caleb Williams. If the defense reaches the upper tier again, this team will be competing for championships.
