Ben Johnson found his way to the Chicago Bears in 2025 after a successful rise to offensive coordinator in Detroit. Over that time, he has developed a healthy hatred of the Green Bay Packers that is well documented by now. However, a new story detailing the head coach’s origin as a play caller may have unearthed some fascinating information. It appears Johnson developed a love of football at a very young age. According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, he started watching football with his father at the start of the 1990s.
Their favorite team was the San Francisco 49ers, who were in the midst of an incredible dynastic run that saw them win 5 Super Bowls in 13 years. Joe Montana was the family favorite.
In those days, Sundays were spent gathered around the television watching the San Francisco 49ers dominate the 1990s. The Niners were Don Johnson’s favorite team. As a former college offensive coordinator and later a high school football coach, he appreciated San Francisco’s West Coast offense and thought quarterback Joe Montana was “exceptional” for the way he operated within the scheme.
So did Ben, who would jump around the living room and try to throw a spiral with a football that barely fit in his hands while emulating his favorite quarterback.
If these details are correct, that means Johnson started watching the 49ers around 1990. That was the last season Montana was the primary starter. What makes it so interesting is that his play-caller at the time was named Mike Holmgren. That same man would leave in 1992 to become head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
A Packers legend helped lay the groundwork for what Ben Johnson became.
People often forget how good a play-caller Holmgren was in those days. He ran the West Coast offense almost as well as Bill Walsh himself did, helping Montana deliver his best season as a professional in 1989. That success would carry over to Green Bay, where he turned Brett Favre into a three-time league MVP. It is amazing to think he might’ve had such an impact on a young Johnson like that. It wasn’t long before the future head coach was designing his own plays in his free time, even before he was in middle school.
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It is rather poetic in a way. Holmgren spent years putting the Bears in hell with his success as Packers coach. That hell persisted long after he left. How appropriate is it that even before he took that job, he sowed the seeds of Chicago’s revival by inspiring a kid to follow the same path he did? Ben Johnson has made himself into a villain in Green Bay’s eyes. Beating them is always his top priority. His genius as a play-caller makes their job of owning the rivalry much harder than it used to be.
This is further proof of how entwined the two teams remain.
Don’t forget that George Halas recommended Vince Lombardi to the Green Bay Packers all those years ago. Rather fitting that an eventual Packers great would return the favor, if unintentionally. So many things needed to happen for Johnson to end up in Chicago. He had to fail as a player in college, ensuring he wouldn’t bounce around the NFL even as a backup. Then he’d have to get the opportunity to become a coordinator, which initially wasn’t possible in Detroit. Lastly, the Bears had to delay firing Matt Eberflus after 2023 because Johnson wasn’t ready to leave.
So many things came together to make this a reality. Yet all of it began with a 5-year-old watching 49ers games with his father and marveling at the intricate chess match NFL coaches played. He may have been too young to fully understand what he was watching, but the seed was planted. Once he became old enough, Johnson embarked on his journey. The rest is history.
