Ben Johnson Must Be Careful Not To Fall Into The Don Coryell Trap

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson lived up to all the hype last season. He took a 5-12 team, whipped them into shape, and led them to an 11-6 record with a division title. It was one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in franchise history. He did this through strict discipline, intensity, and an unerring genius for offensive football. Almost everybody agrees that Johnson is already one of the two or three best offensive play-callers in the sport. He proved it again by taking a Bears team to its first top-10 finish since 2013.

Optimism is sky high. There are whispers of competing for a Super Bowl. However, for all of Johnson’s brilliance, he is still faced with a problem that doesn’t appear solved. His defense finished 29th in the league last season. They had one of the worst pass rushes in football and weren’t much better against the run. Their only significant additions to the roster this offseason were free agent safety Coby Bryant and 1st round safety Dillon Thieneman. While both are highly skilled players, it’s hard to imagine them making a significant difference to the original problems. The 2026 season may require leaning on Johnson’s offense again.

This cannot be something the head coach gets complacent with.

Ben Johnson risks falling into the same trap Don Coryell did.

For those who somehow don’t know, Coryell is a Hall of Fame head coach. He made his name during the 1970s and 1980s with the then-St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. His teams made the playoffs six times, including two AFC Championship game appearances. Most of this success came thanks to some of the best offenses of that era. In 14 seasons on the sideline, Coryell produced 12 offenses ranked in the top 10, and five were #1 overall. He was the true wunderkind of that period. Many elements of his system are still used today.

Sadly, he had an Achilles heel. Coryell couldn’t build a defense to save his life. In his career, the head coach had a defense rank in the top 10 just twice, and only three cracked the top 16. Otherwise, it was a parade of awful. It wasn’t due to staff issues. Jackie Simpson, Jack Pardee, and Tom Bass were all successful coordinators during their careers. The problem went straight to the foundation. Coryell was terrible at building a defensive roster. Not only did he have a bad eye for actual talent, but he also coupled it with not investing high draft choices. A 1st round pick wasn’t spent on the Chargers’ defense until Coryell’s sixth year with the team, and it was a linebacker and defensive back. No lineman was taken until 1986, his last season.

Johnson already shows similar tendencies.

Of the six picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds through his first two drafts with the Bears, only two were spent on defenders. Defensive lineman Shemar Turner tore his ACL as a rookie, and the other is 1st round pick Dillon Thieneman, a safety. It is a small sample size. One can’t say Ben Johnson is making all of the mistakes Coryell did, but it’s hard to ignore the warning signs. A heavy favoritism towards the offense. Not committing more resources to the defensive line, and not having a great eye for it when he does.

Nobody can ever argue that Johnson is ignorant. He understands that offense alone doesn’t win championships. It is more that he’s so confident in his own abilities and that of his players that he subconsciously doesn’t have the same sense of urgency on that side of the ball. Then, before he realizes it, ten seasons will have passed with multiple playoff trips, no Super Bowls, and several disappointing defenses. If the Bears underachieve again this season, how Johnson reacts in the 2027 offseason will set the tone for his entire coaching tenure.