I can go on and on about how impressed I was with Ben Johnson in his introductory press conference today. He sounded like a man with a plan, and a clear vision of how to execute it. He came off as a fantastic communicator who knew exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. When Johnson spoke, he commanded the room like no one I can really remember in my lifetime rooting for the Bears.
Of all the things he did right today, one item stood out among the rest.
Ben Johnson directly addressed the players with his message for them, and when doing so looked to his left directly at Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, and Cole Kmet who were all in attendance:
Ben Johnson's message to the players: pic.twitter.com/O1FskxN2Ff
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 22, 2025
Words from the new Bears head coach:
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable. The bar has been set higher than it’s ever been set before. The only way for this team, and for you as individual players to reach your potential is to be pushed and to be challenged, and that’s exactly what I and my staff plan on doing. We’re going to push, and we’re going to challenge. And along with those high standards is going to be a high level of support as well.”
Ben Johnson Will Give The Player What They Want
Listening to that, it felt like Johnson was going out of his way to express to them immediately that the shortcomings of the previous staff would not linger in his regime. Week after week it felt like Caleb Williams, Cole Kmet, and other team leaders were begging for coaches to be harder on them. Several players indicated that issues that needed to be cleaned up in practice never were and coaches would let mistakes slide instead of correcting them.
There is no room for “good enough” in the NFL, or football in general. Talent matters, but execution matters even more. Letting little things slide leads to big problems in the long run. It’s very comforting to hear that Ben Johnson is aware of that. It’s great that he acknowledged that he heard what the players had problems with last year and that he let them know that it won’t be the case under his watch.
It was just a press conference, and actions will speak louder than words once offseason workouts kick off in the spring, but on day one Ben Johnson’s message to the players couldn’t have been a clearer acknowledgment that he was listening to them and that he’ll give them what they’ve been asking for.