Ben Johnson’s arrival to the Chicago Bears has brought a gargantuan level of hype to the Windy City. However, the first-year head coach didn’t start his ascent up the NFL ladder at the top of the mountain.
Johnson was a member of Adam Gase’s staff with the Miami Dolphins. When Gase was let go in 2018, so was Johnson. He was left searching for jobs and spent time at FIU with Butch Davis before the Detroit Lions gave him a call. The rest is history, as Johnson proved to be one of the strongest minds in the NFL, ultimately leading him to be hired by the Bears.
But Johnson will never forget the road it took to get where he is. He is excited to help the Bears reach heights unseen in franchise history. At the same time, the head coach remains humble in his rise and credits a new approach after being fired to helping him grow, via Adam Jahns of The Athletic.
“Anytime you get fired, you get humbled a little bit,” Johnson said. “Here’s what it did for me: it gave me a fresh perspective. I walked into that building up in Detroit at the end of training camp in 2019, and I was all smiles. I loved every second of it. Was it the job that I had always envisioned? No. But I was forever grateful for those people to give me a chance to be in that building.”
“I would have never envisioned it going the direction it did, to where I was able to climb from quality control to position coach to coordinator to now a head coach,” Johnson continued. “I didn’t see that coming. I was just taking it one step at a time and trying to be the best quality control I could be in that position. And then when I got the tight ends job, just trying to be the best tight ends coach that I could be. So it kind of escalated quickly from there.”
Ben Johnson’s road to Chicago Bears
After beginning his coaching career at Boston College, Johnson joined the NFL in 2012 as an offensive assistant with the Dolphins. He worked his way up to wide receivers coach before Miami shook up their organization.
It may not have been his ‘dream job,’ but when the Lions offered Johnson their offensive quality control coach job 2019, he was eager to accept. Like he did with the Dolphins, Johnson climbed the ladder with the Lions, ultimately becoming the offensive coordinator in 2022.
In his first year on the job, Detroit ranked fourth in total offense, averaging 380 yards per game. A year later, the Lions were ranked third, averaging 394.8 YPG. And in Johnson’s final season with the franchise, Detroit ranked second in total offense, averaging 409.5 YPG.
Being a head coach will be an entirely different beast, especially at the NFL level. But it’s clear to see how Johnson earned the opportunity with the Bears. Still, it wasn’t a linear path from Boston College to Chicago for Johnson.
Immediate Johnson expectations
The Bears were in desperate need of a change following the 2024 season. Things got so bad, Chicago fired their head coach midseason for the first time in franchise history. Johnson’s arrival has been lauded by the masses. But Bears fans have heard this song and dance before. The head coach must move the team towards actual progress if not contention, or the Bears will be answering the same questions come 2026.
Obviously, the easy way to detect Johnson’s impact in Chicago will be how the team improves on offense. The Bears finished the 2024 campaign ranked dead last in total offense, averaging 284.6 YPG. They were 31st in passing, averaging 181.5 YPG.
Johnson has a strong offensive core to work with, headlined by quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears have rebuilt their offensive line and added a pair of receiving threats in the draft in Luther Burden and Colston Loveland. The head coach will need to figure out how to put the pieces together, but there’s a clear line to offensive success in year one for Johnson.
He isn’t forgetting about the defensive side after the Bears finished 2024 ranked 27th overall, allowing 354.3 YPG. By hiring a veteran in Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator, Johnson is making sure his bases are covered as a first-year head coach. Overall, Johnson was diligent in filling his staff with voices both old and new for maximum production.
The expectations on Johnson’s shoulders will be lofty, even in his rookie head coaching campaign. But he is ready to embrace them all in an effort to get the Bears back on top.
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