By now, most people have reached the conclusion that Chicago Bears fans did at the end of last season. Ben Johnson is an excellent head coach. Everybody knew he was a great play caller. That had been proven in Detroit. What wasn’t certain was whether he could fill the captain’s chair, so to speak. Could he hold a locker room and motivate guys to play their best? The amount of evidence confirming this over the past 18 months is overwhelming. If anything, that certainty has only grown by watching him this year.
Johnson navigated some choppy waters over the past two months. It started with the loss of quarterback Caleb Williams for three games due to a hamstring injury. The Bears went 2-1 in his absence. Then he stared down a three-game stretch where his team would play both participants from last year’s Super Bowl (Seattle and New England) and one of the league’s hottest teams (Tampa Bay). Chicago went 3-0. Johnson appeared on First Things First for an interview with Danny Parkins about the team’s ability to navigate those tough situations.
It was here that the head coach easily dropped one of the best lines you’ll ever hear.
“My dad sent me a quote: ‘Only mediocre people can be at their best all the time’… As a team, to be able to still find a way to win and other guys step up and fill the void, I think that’s what good teams do.”
Ben Johnson didn’t shy away from making his expectations clear.
He doesn’t just want to win. He wants to score a lot of points and shut the other team out. He wants domination. This took the FTF panels aback. Parkins asked if he was afraid that such talk might paint a target on his and the Bears’ backs. Johnson shrugged it off.
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“Absolutely not. If there’s any other offensive play caller in the league that doesn’t feel that way, then they’re full of BS.”
He went on to say that every offensive play caller in the league feels the same way. The only difference is he isn’t afraid to say it out loud. Call it arrogance. Call it bravado. It makes no difference. Ben Johnson will continue to demand those standards at all times. No settling for mediocrity under his watch. He demands excellence from both his players and himself.
One person who seemed pretty impacted by those statements was Greg Jennings, the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver. He sounded like someone who wishes he were still playing so he could play for Johnson. Coaches like that make you want to be the best version of yourself.
It’s getting easier to understand the Bears’ transformation.
They no longer operate like a team that wants to win. They expect to win. That is their mindset going into every single game. You’ll often find that championship teams express this was their way of thinking as well. If you expect to win, you will play at a consistent level to ensure it happens. Sunday’s victory over a Tampa Bay was a shining example of this. Johnson’s offense had its worst overall performance of the season. Despite that, the Bears never trailed in the game and won 27-24.
Stuff like that doesn’t happen unless you’re a good, well-coached football team. Johnson clearly understands the job. He isn’t just another sharp offensive mind who’s in way over his head. He was born to do this. If he can even get guys who were bred to hate the team he represents to want to play for him, that says a lot.
