Best of the Bears: What Ben Johnson accomplished in Year 1 was 'so damn impressive'
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What impressive achievements did Ben Johnson accomplish in his first year as Bears head coach?
Thanks, everybody. The Bears. You're listening to the best of the Bears.
He's in for the touchdown. And the Chicago Bears have taken the lead.
A weekly mix of 670, the score's best NFL talk to get you ready for game day.
And I have some breaking news for you. Guys, we are getting news here right now.
This is per Tom Pelissero. He says a new day in Chicago. The Bears are finalizing a deal to hire Ben Johnson as their head coach. Let's go. Per sources. That is an incredible bit of news from Tom Pelissero. It is happening.
How has Caleb Williams developed in his second NFL season?
Okay, it's happening. Everybody stay calm. What's the procedure, everyone? What's the procedure? Stay calm! It's going on. It's everywhere. That is the number one target. Schefter, Big Z, in on it. Wow.
That's a wow!
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. The Bears have a lot going for them. You've got tons of cap space. You've got extra draft resources.
What makes Caleb Williams a potential future star in the NFL?
You've got an iconic franchise that is hoping to break ground on a new stadium as soon as this year. And you've got Caleb Williams. To the phone lines we go. Guys, what a day. This is a modern offense that we're going to be able to install. I'm blown away. Totally floored. Today we win the offseason Super Bowl, and I am so stoked. Like, wow. I'm really ecstatic about the hire. I mean, I think Ben Johnson's a slam dunk hire.
Andy is in Wisconsin. I'm extremely shocked that the Bears did things the right way. A local media affiliate just said, oh boy, this is not good news. The stepbrother just grew up.
What challenges did the Bears face in the previous season?
TV's own Danny Parkins. It's a new day. The Bears hired a young offensive coach that everybody wanted.
Game on, everybody. The Bears are hiring Ben Johnson. It was good times when Ben Johnson got hired. And with how well things went this year, Speaks, it's... You forget that this was his first year as a head coach. And I knew that he could devise an offense. I knew that he could call plays because look at the success of the offense in Detroit. And I was wondering about all of the other stuff. And so watching... The whole reason I want to talk about this is because I feel like what he's done is so damn impressive. It's walking in and being a first year coach and having a plan and that plan being executed. And I'm not trying to rag on any of the former Bears coaches.
How did the Bears' coaching staff influence player performance?
I just feel like when he got the job, there was a level of belief in his forecasting on how this would go that he walked in and said, this is what we're doing. And there was no question about it. The buy-in was immediate. Small stuff. Players showing up to his introductory press conference. Caleb showing up to his introductory press conference. Everyone getting on board. It wouldn't have been hard... For any coach, after the mess that went down last year, to walk in and things look instantly better, what Ben did was beyond that. He was somehow able to keep his play-calling bona fides. along with building a culture, along with pretty much pushing all of the right buttons in the development of the quarterback.
Crazy. The volume of things that have gone right and that we saw develop is off the charts. Keep going. I know you're feeling it.
What role does culture play in the Bears' organization under Ben Johnson?
It just... I'm struck by how well things went here. And it doesn't happen like this a lot. Now look, in Jacksonville, they had a similar bump. But their quarterback is farther down the road. And he, look, his first year was hell, too. The Urban Meyer experiment down there was a nightmare. But we're four years removed from that for Trevor Lawrence. And then you look and you go, look at this, what they've built down there in Duval. But this thing in Halas Hall has been unreal. Yeah, you know, the thing in New England, obviously, has gone so well, too. But that's a guy... Who had been a head coach before. Who had been a coach of the year before. Like, you know what his bona fides are, and you know he walks in...
With the ability to flip the culture.
What are the expectations for Caleb Williams moving forward?
No, I think that is all spot on. I think that Ben was able to know that his offensive ingenuity and play calling and design and even malleability was without question, was just locked and loaded. So he was able to not worry about that or have to prove that, you know?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What impressive achievements did Ben Johnson accomplish in his first year as Bears head coach?
0:01–0:56
2
How has Caleb Williams developed in his second NFL season?
0:56–1:17
3
What makes Caleb Williams a potential future star in the NFL?
1:17–1:52
4
What challenges did the Bears face in the previous season?
1:52–3:01
5
How did the Bears' coaching staff influence player performance?
3:01–4:14
6
What role does culture play in the Bears' organization under Ben Johnson?
4:14–5:09
7
What are the expectations for Caleb Williams moving forward?
5:09–6:46
8
How can the Bears build on their successes for the next season?
6:46–56:40
Speakers
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