Of all the moves made by teams in the 2025 offseason, you couldn't help but feel like the Chicago Bears made one of the most impactful moves of them all, and it had nothing to do with any players they brought in. The Bears made arguably the biggest head coach hire out of any NFL team when they brought in Ben Johnson, formerly the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.
Not only did the Bears steal a great coach from a division rival, but they arguably got the best possible guy they could to help coach and develop Caleb Williams, whose rookie season with the team was disastrous for reasons out of his control.
Johnson has come in and instilled a culture of accountability without BS, but also honesty at every turn. It's pretty refreshing for a head coach who isn't always just speaking in such a way that keeps people from panic.
Johnson has been critical of what he's seen out there on the practice field, but he's not placing blame on the players, he's taking accountability for how he's setting them up for success.
Ben Johnson critical at Bears training camp, but it's exactly what the team needs
Ben Johnson said he was 'pretty disappointed' with Wednesday's practice due to the execution errors he saw from the offense and put the onus on himself.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 31, 2025
"I’ll fall on the sword on that one. I didn’t do a good enough job installing those plays for them to come out and look the…
Last offseason, it felt like everybody was assuming the moves the Chicago Bears made on paper were going to lead to them being one of the top up-and-coming teams in the league. Instead of getting an up-and-coming team, we got a team that fired its head coach in the middle of the season for the first time in franchise history.
They moved on from one offensive coordinator and pivoted to another.
It was a rough year in Chicago, but hitting the reset button in the 2025 offseason didn't require an overhaul of the roster, and general manager Ryan Poles has cast such a compelling vision with Johnson at the helm that he was (possibly prematurely) given a contract extension.
The presence of Johnson is going to make this Bears team better, even if the results don't show up immediately. It's extremely important to remember that the Bears play in one of the best divisions in football, and this isn't about an instant takeover of the NFC North so much as it is about being the team in that division for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the Bears won't turn down immediate success, but that shouldn't be the expectation in 2025. The keys for the Bears this season are instilling a healthy culture within the organization and seeing progression from Caleb Williams. Anything beyond that will be gravy.