In case you are not paying a whole lot of attention to the Chicago Bears — and I can't blame you there — let me quickly get you up to speed: this week, they hired former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their next head coach.
Johnson was *the* candidate of this year's coaching cycle, and the Bears did well to once again win the offseason and sign him to what is reportedly a huge deal. Now they'll pair a bright, offensive-minded coach with a promising young QB, which has never gone wrong for them in the past and definitely won't go wrong for them in the future.
Johnson was officially introduced in a press conference on Wednesdsay, and it kind of went exactly how every introductory press conference goes. There were a lot of good soundbites, some lofty promises, and two dozen random suits presiding over the whole thing.
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Like every other Bears coach ever, Johnson was contractually obligated to take a shot at the Packers in his opening presser, and he certainly didn't back down from the challenge.
When talking about coaching in the NFC North, Johnson laid down a Packers dig that surely won't get played over and over again on Packers Twitter until next season.
Ben Johnson's comments on Matt LaFleur will definitely not come back to bite him, nope
Johnson spoke about the quality of the NFC North but couldn't help but take a shot at the Packers.
"I wanted to stay in this division," Johnson said. "I know this is the toughest division in football right now. There's three teams that made the playoffs this year. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and players in the league, having competed against them the last six years. Dan Campbell and Kevin O'Connell? Talk about two guys that are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends here. And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year."
Whatever you say, man! I'm all for Bears coaches talking the talk. Nothing's funnier than replaying cringey Bears coach quotes after another five-win season, so I'm excited that Johnson got out ahead of this one and established 2025's go-to soundbite already. His reputation as the most prepared guy in the room really does precede him.
No one hypes up their fans when games are safely eight months away quite like the Chicago Bears. It's a new day in Chicago, but some traditions truly never die.