Ben Johnson delivered one of the best three-year runs an offensive coordinator has had in recent memory between 2022 and 2024. He took an offense that was 22nd in 2021 and had just lost its future Hall of Fame quarterback via trade and guided them to finishes of 4th, 3rd, and 2nd. Sure, upgrades in personnel helped the process, but everybody with the Detroit Lions agreed that Johnson’s play-calling ability was the straw that stirred the drink. Even so, some wonder if all the hype over the past few months might be overblown.
Some guys benefit from ideal situations with Pro Bowl talent everywhere, right? Jonah Jackson was quick to put a stop to that nonsense. The Bears’ new right guard was with the young coach for three years. He had a front-row seat for what Johnson is like behind the scenes and on the sideline. He made it clear to Tyler Dunne of Go Long TD that people still don’t grasp the reality. Johnson is a genius. The way his brain works makes going against him almost unfair because of what he could dream up every Sunday.
His football brain’s on a totally different frequency.
The NFL is a copycat league. Week to week, offensive coaches study other teams and steal plays that work. But someone’s got to be the innovator at the forefront of it all inventing plays — that’s Ben Johnson.
Each install, each week is completely different.
“It’s fascinating, honestly,” Jackson says. “You’re never just attacking a team the same way for 17 weeks. It’s nothing repetitive. He likes to call the game to our strengths. So the trick plays and everything, he thinks about how certain guys are going to get out on the block. The intricacies of it are amazing and it’s fun to be a part of because you’ve got a lot of stuff in your back pocket to throw at another team.”
Ben Johnson can prove it to everybody in Chicago.
No organization has made offense in professional football look like quantum physics more than the Bears. They’ve managed a top-10 unit only twice in the past 30 years. It wasn’t for lack of talent. They just never seemed to have the right guy calling the shots. Ron Turner, Mike Martz, Mike Tice, Marc Trestman, Adam Gase, Dowell Loggains, Matt Nagy, Luke Getsy, and Shane Waldron aren’t exactly a who’s who of elite NFL play-calling. Ben Johnson is by far the most accomplished the Bears have brought aboard in the Super Bowl era. To think he might somehow be even better than his recent accomplishments suggest tells you why excitement is building so quickly inside Halas Hall.
