It didn’t take long for Chicago Bears fans to notice that head coach Ben Johnson is a deadly serious individual. While he didn’t mind cracking jokes or smiling when speaking to the media or fans, it seemed like a switch flipped when on the practice field or during games. The guy was like a granite statue. Zero smiles and barely any celebrations. He was laser-focused on everything. Players admitted that he could be pretty intense about everything they do, which wasn’t something they were used to.
The reasons for this aren’t hard to decipher. Johnson is a competitor. He wants to win. Championships are his motivation, and that is not something you can treat casually. It doesn’t stop there, though. Johnson is also driven by the desire for personal greatness. Former wide receiver Leonte Carroo revealed as much on the Fourth And Bonilla podcast. There, he told an incredible story about how Johnson, a wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins, confronted then-Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry about his commitment to improving.
Landry had Hall of Fame potential if he just applied himself better. That was one thing Johnson didn’t worry about, since he was certain he’d end up in Canton one day as a coach.
Ben Johnson called his shot a decade ago.
That should tell you so much about how the Bears’ young head coach is wired. If you want to talk about single-minded determination, then predicting your Hall of Fame achievement before your career has barely begun ranks near the top. Johnson had no reason to expect such an outcome. The Dolphins hadn’t accomplished anything to that point, not winning a playoff game since the 1990s. That didn’t deter Johnson in the slightest. He knew how hard he was willing to work and the time he was ready to put in.
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It turns out he was right about Landry. The receiver had probably the best two-season stretch of his career in Miami when Johnson was coaching him. Unfortunately, things tapered off fast after he left for Cleveland. He had one more good year in 2019, and then steeply declined. His last season in 2022 was forgettable, barely cracking 270 yards with the New Orleans Saints. He was only 30 years old. Maybe things would’ve been different for him had Johnson’s words gotten through.
He’s off to a great start.
Many Hall of Fame head coaches had to reach the pinnacle the hard way. Tom Landry didn’t win a single game in his first year in Dallas. Bill Walsh went 2-14. Jimmy Johnson went 1-15. Even the mighty Bill Belichick went 5-11. It is not easy to produce a winning record right out of the gate, especially when you take over a team that hadn’t done so in seven years. Yet Ben Johnson did it anyway. He overcame a 0-2 start, a mountain of injuries, and a struggling defense to go 11-6, win the division, and win a playoff game.
That is a great way to start his long campaign to win that gold jacket. Based on history, there are a few landmarks Johnson must reach before the conversation begins. He will need at least 150 victories and a Super Bowl title. Remember, Mike Ditka had 127 wins and a championship, and he’s never gotten close. Truth be told, Johnson will need two Super Bowl rings before voters start taking him seriously as a candidate. Doing all of that in Chicago would certainly help his case, which is probably why he took the job.
