Ben Johnson was a darling in media circles during his rise up the ranks with the Detroit Lions. It was a great story. Here is a young assistant who was cast out of Miami and left adrift. He lands with one of the worst teams in the NFL, becomes their offensive coordinator, turns the offense into a juggernaut, and authors one of the greatest franchise revivals in recent memory. Everybody knew he was destined to become a head coach. However, no one thought he might turn to the dark side.
That may sound a little over the top, but the signs are growing. Johnson chooses to take over as head coach of the Chicago Bears, one of Detroit’s biggest rivals. He immediately declares his great joy for beating Matt Lafleur and the Green Bay Packers, a longtime media darling. His comments to the media come across as brash and borderline arrogant. He takes his shirt off during a post-game celebration over Philadelphia on national television. According to Sports Mockery insider Jeff Hughes, a lot of people inside the league are developing a serious dislike for Johnson.
Ben Johnson is wearing the black hat.
One thing you often find is true about the NFL is that it is almost always at its best when it has a great villain. There is a certain head coach and team that always does things in a certain manner that goes against the classy spirit of competition the league likes to exude. It was Al Davis and John Madden with the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s and 1970s. There was Buddy Ryan with the Philadelphia Eagles in the late 1980s, or Jimmy Johnson with the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1990s. Then there was Emperor Palpatine himself, the always shady Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots in the 2000s and 2010s.
However, over the past few years, the NFL hasn’t really had a coach step into that role. Most of the top guys are well-respected and well-liked, including Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike MacDonald, and Dan Campbell. It was starting to feel like a country club atmosphere where hate and rivalry were being phased out. Ben Johnson made it his mission to put a stop to that nonsense. His message was clear from the moment he arrived in Chicago.
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Everybody is the enemy, and I will walk over their corpses to win if I have to.
This outcome is perfect for the Bears.
One thing that often gets overlooked about franchise history is that Chicago doesn’t mind being the antagonist in somebody else’s story. George Halas himself was notorious for pulling some dirty tricks during games in his day. Mike Ditka always instructed his team to play with a physical edge. Ben Johnson is merely embracing that long-lost identity. Besides, this isn’t the movies. In real life, villains win all the time. All of those names mentioned above did lots of it. Three are in the Hall of Fame, and another will be soon.
Let’s be honest. The Bears were never built to play the role of the golden boy hero. Everything from their origin story to their color palette indicates the villain. All they were missing was a head coach who understood that. Johnson is that guy. He doesn’t care if other people hate him. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to win. That includes playing mind games and or being a prick. Famous pro wrestler CM Punk had a great quote when he returned to WWE a few years ago.
“I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make money.”
Johnson is much the same way, only it’s rings he’s chasing instead of cash.
