Tyson Bagent came from nowhere. He made his name at Sheppard University, a Division II program. Most quarterbacks at that level never come close to sniffing the NFL. However, Bagent had enough size and arm strength to at least get some attention. After setting passing records in college, he delivered an excellent pre-draft run through the all-star circuit. While it didn’t get him drafted, the Chicago Bears expressed more than enough interest to sign him as an undrafted free agent. People figured he had a good shot at making the practice squad. One can imagine their surprise when he played so well in the preseason that they made him the primary backup.

Bagent started four games as a rookie, going 2-2. He settled into the backup role well, honing his craft each year. His work over the past month was enough to convince head coach Ben Johnson that they needed to keep him around. The Bears thus offered him a two-year extension worth up to $16 million. Bagent could’ve declined, opting to hit free agency next spring and pursue a starting job. Instead, he wanted to stick with Johnson, hoping to learn more about playing the position. Plus, he got to stay somewhere he loves.

If you thought he was excited to get the new deal, watch Caleb Williams when he gets the news.

Caleb’s reaction says a lot about Tyson Bagent as a teammate.

Playing the same position can sometimes make things awkward. Everybody wants to play. There have been more than a few quarterback rooms where tensions led to hard feelings. Ask Justin Fields about Nick Foles and Andy Dalton. Williams’ celebration tells you the kind of teammate Tyson Bagent is. There has never been any remote indication that the two are at odds with each other. Quite the opposite. They share a strong friendship born of the grind. Bagent has been a steady supporter of Williams since the #1 overall pick arrived last year. That was his job, and he did it well. Now the Bears are rewarding him for all that work. Fortunately, he chose to stay. The team should have some much-needed stability moving forward.

Ben Johnson hasn’t proven anything yet. You need to win football games to be called a good head coach. He is about to embark on that mission just over two weeks from now. That said, there are usually signs early on if a guy has the traits necessary to make it in the NFL. People talk about the ability to hold a locker room’s attention and motivate grown men. Others think it is the mastery of Xs and Os. It is always a combination of the two. However, there is often much more to it. One trait that too often gets overlooked with great head coaches is their uncanny obsession with details.

Joe Gibbs famously spent his nights sleeping at the team facility after watching hours of game film. Bill Belichick was notorious for finding even the smallest weaknesses in opposing players and crafting ways to exploit them. One person who has seen guys like that in action is Case Keenum. He told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that Johnson exhibits those same qualities.

Quarterback Case Keenum is on his eighth team and 14th head coach (counting interims). The coaches who harp on the details the way Johnson does are those who succeed. They’re the ones who help the players understand why a detail is critical to the play.

“It’s the coaches I’ve been around that are detailed about split and how you line up and where you got to get to and when you got to be there and everybody on the field trusting that guy to be here on that time, whether it’s blocking for me, blocking for him, lining up here to adjust to get defender’s eyes over here so we can block him this way or different ways of doing a lot of plays I’ve run before,” he said, “but I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s why we do that. That makes a ton of sense.’”

Keenum would know.

He played for Gary Kubiak in Houston, who went on to win a Super Bowl with Denver. Kubiak learned from Mike Shanahan, somebody else with a reputation for details. However, after listening to the stories about Johnson for months, it’s becoming clear he’s starting to resemble someone even more prestigious.

Ben Johnson sounds so much like Shula.

The all-time leader in wins didn’t last 33 years in the league by accident. Everybody who played for him understood he did not accept cutting corners. Either you did things the right way or were off the team. His rise was similar to Ben Johnson. He spent a few years as an assistant before becoming a coordinator in 1961. He immediately produced a dominant unit. After two years, he was hired as head coach of the Baltimore Colts. Shula went on to win two Super Bowls and reach six. If Johnson wired the same way, the Bears are in store for exciting times ahead. Time will tell how many players are up to the challenge he lays down. It won’t be surprising if names you’re seeing now don’t stick with the team in the next couple of years.

The Chicago Bears face a serious health situation at running back. Roschon Johnson has been out for almost two weeks with a foot injury. Then, in the preseason win over Buffalo, rookie Deion Hankins was lost for the season with a quad injury. That was after fans learned that 7th round pick Kyle Monangai would not play in the game. It was reported that he’d suffered an undisclosed injury in the joint practice with the Bills two days earlier. Suddenly, the depth at running back, which was already a question mark, began to look alarming.

Chicago had already signed veteran Brittain Brown last week. Shortly after the Buffalo game, they had to add Royce Freeman as well. That left many wondering how serious the Monangai situation is. Thankfully, it appears things aren’t as bad as they seemed. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune provided an update. From what he understands, Monangai is not in any serious danger of missing much time. Whatever he’s dealing with won’t stop him from suiting up for opening day next month.

The Bears do have some injured running backs, but they didn’t bring any in for a tryout Monday, the day after they ran for 171 yards in a 38-0 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills. If the team felt there was a pressing need to add a back for depth in the preseason finale Friday night in Kansas City, you’d think they would have taken swift action. I don’t believe rookie Kyle Monangai, who was held out Sunday, is dealing with anything serious and he could be back soon.

Kyle Monangai will be needed this season.

D’Andre Swift is a good player, but he’s not built to carry a heavy workload. He’s always been at his best when part of a committee. You need at least another running back who can handle a decent amount of touches for that to work. The Bears believe Kyle Monangai has that capability. He flashed the potential in the preseason opener against Miami, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. While hopes remain high that Johnson will also be a big part of the equation, it has become difficult to trust his health. He’s missed multiple games in each of the past two seasons. If he isn’t up for it, Monangai will have to be. This update ensures the Bears will have a capable setup for Monday night against Minnesota.

Eagle-eyed Chicago Bears fans noticed something last year. During Hard Knocks, HBO’s training camp series that covered the team in 2024, footage showed quarterback Caleb Williams having private meetings with head coach Matt Eberflus. This wasn’t out of the ordinary. Coaches and quarterbacks always have strong personal relationships, given their importance to the team. However, fans couldn’t help but notice that Williams seemed somewhat disinterested in Eberflus’ words. He didn’t take extensive notes and seemed bored.

At the time, some accused the quarterback of not taking his job seriously. However, with the benefit of hindsight, it might be more accurate to say Williams didn’t take Eberflus seriously. Reports have surfaced recently about how poorly the previous coaching staff managed the quarterback. More specifically, it was an apparent hands-off approach that rankled him the most. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN further confirmed these rumors. Even people inside Halas Hall recognized how nonchalant Eberflus was being about it.

But the Bears found out early that the combination of Waldron and Eberflus wouldn’t be strong enough for Williams. (Eberflus, now the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, was not made available for this story.) As one team source put it, the staff projected the feeling of, “We will figure it out, he’s a rookie,” whereas more direct tutelage on the basics of quarterback play was needed. It’s also notable that the Bears did not have another veteran on the roster for Williams to lean on, which multiple sources found problematic.

Eberflus thought he had a free pass with Caleb Williams.

It sounds like he was under the impression that drafting the young quarterback bought him some time. After all, coaches and quarterbacks need to stay together for more than one year, right? Unfortunately, Eberflus hadn’t remembered his history lesson. The Bears had fired John Fox one year after drafting Mitch Trubisky and Matt Nagy one year after drafting Justin Fields. There was no evidence to suggest he was safe if the team crashed and burned last season. Going from 3-1 to another double-digit losing streak sealed his fate. It became evident that Caleb Williams was not in capable hands, and the quarterback knew it. Trying to stick things out another year would’ve probably led to a massive rift between the two.

Playing wide receiver in the NFL is something few guys can do at the highest level. Chad Johnson was one of them for most of the 2000s. From 2002 to 2009, he was one of the best wide receivers in the league. Most people today know him more for his outlandish antics, from creative end zone celebrations to renaming himself Chad Ochocinco. All of it overshadowed how good he was. Perhaps one of the best route-runners of all time. So, for all the personality, you can bet he knows everything there is to know about playing the position like a professional.

That is why it is interesting to see Johnson develop a strong liking for Chicago Bears rookie Luther Burden. Not only does he see immense talent in the 2nd round pick, but also remarkable polish as a route runner. Such a combination is rare for young receivers, especially in today’s league. College football isn’t known for teaching complex route trees at most programs. Burden looking this sharp already is a testament to his intelligence and hard work. Johnson sees big things ahead for him.

Chad Johnson doesn’t need elite intelligence to know what he sees.

Even people who never played football at a high level can tell Burden is talented. His mix of size and speed is rare. Even Chad Johnson himself didn’t have the mass Burden carries. Now you throw in the route-running, and basic mathematics takes over from there. Players who exhibit all those traits tend to have bright careers in the NFL, presuming they stay healthy and out of trouble. Then, on top of that, you put him in the hands of Ben Johnson, one of the league’s best play-callers. Everything is lined up for Burden to become an instant sensation, even more so than Johnson did over 20 years ago.

Ben Johnson delivered one of the NFL’s best offenses for three years in Detroit. The numbers speak for themselves. Perhaps what stood out the most about it was that the Lions did it without any true superstar. Sure, they had some really good players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Jahmyr Gibbs, but nobody you’d classify as elite. It was truly an offense that was greater than the sum of its parts, and Johnson was the primary reason for its success. If you don’t think so, ask Jon Gruden.

If anybody knows about offensive football, it’s him. Once upon a time, the former Super Bowl champion was widely considered one of the brightest minds in the league. His mere presence turned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from playoff disappointment to champions. He got top five offenses from Ty Detmer and Bobby Hoying. Derek Carr played the two best seasons of his career under Gruden’s watch. So when the man says the Chicago Bears have a mastermind of offensive football as head coach, you best listen.

Ben Johnson has already shown you snippets of what’s coming.

His ability to use play action was already well-documented, and he turned it loose multiple times against Buffalo last week. Caleb Williams was lethal with it. Chicago never utilized it to any extent last season. Ben Johnson used it more than anybody in the NFL. He is a massive believer in marrying the run game with the passing game. Given his success, it is hard to argue with that. Gruden should know. He rarely got enough credit for how deadly his offense could be with play action. Perhaps he sees some of himself in Johnson. The excitement is hard to miss. Nobody has felt that way about a Bears head coach in a long time. Plenty of proving remains ahead. Still, this is the first one to feel right in years.