Ben Johnson did a full review of the Chicago Bears‘ operation when he arrived as their new head coach in 2025. It didn’t take him long to recognize that some things needed to change. Nowhere was that clearer than the draft evaluation process. Johnson had no issue with general manager Ryan Poles’ eye for players with the right measurable and athletic profiles. Part of the problem was identifying the wiring. In Johnson’s mind, whether the player liked football wasn’t enough. He had to be obsessed with it.
The head coach wanted football junkies.
That subtle but significant shift was what drove the team’s entire scouting process in 2025. As a result, they delivered one of their best drafts in years, landing Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai. All four made meaningful contributions to the team’s playoff run last season. Johnson talked about why this approach is one he prefers to Cassie Carlson of Fox 32 News and how he, the coaches, and the scouts go about identifying it in players, whether through watching how they play from snap to snap or in-person interviews.
He also pointed out why free agency makes this impossible.
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Ben Johnson has rubbed shoulders with several smart GMs.
That is something that kind of gets glossed over during his ascent up the coaching ranks. During his long climb up the ladder, the head coach had the chance to learn how some of the best general managers operated. It started with Jeff Ireland in Miami, who built a pretty strong roster despite never quite getting the head coach right. He’d got on to a long and productive tenure as New Orleans’ assistant general manager. Then came the arrival in Detroit, where Johnson watched Brad Holmes brilliantly rebuild the Lions into an NFC powerhouse.
Ireland’s draft philosophy had roots from his grandfather, Jim Parmer, who was a prominent scout for the Bears in the 1980s. The focus was on players who were mentally tough, mature, and passionate about football. Then you listen to Holmes speak, and it’s not hard to see his priorities.
“We have to get past looking for the most talented player. That’s the prerequisite of evaluation. … How do you find the right intangibles in a football player? That’s what made us who we are.”
He wanted football players. Athleticism and upside are great, but Holmes needed to see guys show their passion for the game on tape. If it was ever questionable, he’d be willing to pass on a more talented player in favor of those he knew would be all-in, all the time.
Johnson has some Jim Finks in him.
For those who are too young to remember, Finks was the Bears’ general manager from 1974 through 1983. During that time, he laid the foundation for what became the team’s iconic 1985 Super Bowl championship. His draft philosophy throughout that time was two-fold: always take the best player available and focus on finding tough, disciplined players with a “blood and guts” style. When you listen to Ben Johnson talk, it sounds like he mirrors a lot of what Finks did all those years ago.
You can’t argue with the success. The former GM ended up drafting five Hall of Famers, including Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Jimbo Covert, and Richard Dent. Every last one of them exhibited those exact characteristics. For whatever reason, the franchise seemed to get away from those benchmarks for the past several years. Leave it to a 38-year-old head coach to put them back on the right path.
