When they said Ben Johnson was intense and demanding, they weren’t kidding. It has become apparent from the moment he took over as the Chicago Bears’ head coach that things would be different. The days of players policing themselves and getting away with cutting corners are over. Johnson watches every single drill in practice like a hawk. When guys make mistakes, he stops a play and forces them to run everything again. If they screw up again, they get kicked off the field. Accountability is the buzzword around Halas Hall, and Johnson is its biggest champion.
If you weren’t sure how serious he is about it, the coach’s most recent press conference put that to bed. Family Fest at Soldier Field on Sunday was a frustrating one for the Bears offense, featuring multiple penalties and other mental errors. Even 48 hours later, Johnson is stewing over it, and let the players know.
“Offensively, it was the sloppiness that I referred to. Obviously, the delay of games were obvious to everybody, but there were at least a couple plays where linemen were going the wrong direction. We already talked about (Kyle) Mogangai going the wrong direction on the pitch play. It was communication errors that resulted in guys not aligning correctly or not going the right direction, and so that to me is what we have to clean up right now. When we went back, we looked at it. Everyone acknowledged what their mistakes were. We put that to bed and we’re on to today.”
This is a reminder of how serious Johnson is.
Most coaches would probably address the problem internally and forget about it after the first 24 hours. Not this man. He refused to let it go and used the media as another avenue to let the players know he hasn’t forgotten. There are no excuses. Either do your jobs or he’ll find someone who can.
It appears the message from Ben Johnson was received.
Barely an hour after the head coach delivered his statement, the Bears offense hit the practice field. Let’s just say it was a rumble. They took control almost immediately, scoring multiple times in goal-line drills and taking the physicality to the defense. Tempers flared, resulting in at least two scuffles between the two sides. Tyler Scott blew up Jaquan Brisker on a block. Rome Odunze got his helmet ripped off. It was beautiful, and exactly what Ben Johnson wanted. The periods were live, meaning tackling was permitted. There was no misconstruing what was intended. Chicago’s offense had its credibility challenged by the head coach. He offered them a chance to prove him wrong, and they took it. That is what good head coaches do.
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The Bears’ offense hasn’t been the tone-setter on Sundays for too long. Ben Johnson aims to change that. His capability as a play-caller isn’t enough. He must get the players to believe in his vision and embrace the work to get there. It appears to be working.
