One thing to remember about former players is that they have more knowledge and experience than most current players. That gives them some credibility when making assessments about teams. That goes for coaches, especially. Lance Briggs experienced the full spectrum of Chicago Bears history in one career. He started with the well-liked but ineffective Dick Jauron. Then he enjoyed a long run with the dependable Lovie Smith. Things then concluded with the completely overmatched Marc Trestman. So Briggs seems qualified to assess what the Bears have with Ben Johnson.
He and former teammates Jason McKie and Jerry Azumah discussed it on CHGO Bears After Dark. Suffice it to say, their first impressions of Johnson and his staff were unexpected. Johnson’s intensity and attention to detail stuck out immediately. He was relentless in his approach. It wasn’t limited to him either. His assistants were equally demanding of players, constantly correcting them for poor footwork, technique, and effort. It was quite the revelation for men who’d seen some rough years out of Halas Hall in the past decade.
Ben Johnson is doing it the right way.
The hardest part of being a head coach isn’t the Xs and Os. It is never allowing your players to rest. You must be on top of them every single day. The moment they sense you slacking, they will do the same. It is just the natural way of things. Ben Johnson understands that. To be a great head coach, you must be able to motivate guys and be willing to be a bit of a prick sometimes. It is okay if players don’t like you. What matters is that they respect you and do what you instruct them to. That is the problem that befell each coach for the past 13 years. Trestman didn’t have a firm enough hand. John Fox was aging and lacked his former energy. Matt Nagy had the energy, but never built a great staff. Matt Eberflus had issues with both.
