It was a familiar feeling that Chicago Bears fans have gotten used to. Their team took a big lead into the second half. Then, as has often become the case in recent years, they fell apart late due to mental mistakes and a lack of a killer instinct. Even with Matt Eberflus gone, the same problems remain. That was an important point that Bears center Olin Kreutz made on 670 The Score after the game. While the former coaching staff was undoubtedly a big problem, the cracks run deeper on this team than that. It is time to consider that maybe some of the players on this team aren’t cut out for high-stakes football.
Then Kreutz made an important point. You have to remember about the new head coach, Ben Johnson: He was hired to clean up these problems. That isn’t just limited to new schemes and standards. The new Bears head coach has a lot of power inside that organization. They paid him $13 million per year, and according to multiple insiders, he has considerable personnel power. Most of the players on this team were acquired before he arrived. If this keeps up, there is a strong possibility he sets out to change that.
Olin Kreutz is correct. Johnson has a big job ahead of him.
The 2025 season is about trying to win. That won’t change. However, it is also a season where Johnson will spend four months evaluating the entire Bears roster. Every player who wasn’t added since his arrival is under surveillance. If he senses weakness from them, you can bet he won’t hesitate to get them out by next spring. Olin Kreutz saw Lovie Smith do something similar when he arrived in 2004. In what was a down year for the team, Smith assessed where the weaknesses were. By 2005, the Bears had six new starters. It could be an even bigger turnover with Johnson running the show. He doesn’t strike as somebody with the same patience as other head coaches might have. Players should be nervous. None of their jobs are safe. If standard motivations won’t work, maybe fearing for their livelihoods will.
