
Chicago Bears fans were often left frustrated by the team’s lack of discipline in various areas, but new head coach Ben Johnson promises things will be different in 2025.
During his introductory press conference Wednesday, Johnson preached a message of accountability, saying that “repeat offenders” would be held to account in his system.
“The most important thing is clear communication and structure and expectation,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to outline. We will set the standard on what it looks like and shouldn’t look like. It’ll be on us as a coaching staff to call guys out, and repeat offenders will need to be made an example of.”
Under Matt Eberflus, the Bears had plenty of instances where their discipline failed them, including the infamous Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders where Tyrique Stevenson was interacting with the crowd instead of trying to defend the pass, ultimately coming over to the play and tipping the ball to a wide receiver to seal the loss.
Eberflus himself had several questionable moments, including the most infamous of all when he didn’t call a timeout in the dying moments of the Bears’ Thanksgiving loss to the Lions.
Eberflus was ultimately fired after that game, but Johnson promises things will be different under his leadership.
“Every step along the way, I found a way to excel in each job,” he said. “I’m deeply committed to finding a way to make this work. My core values rest on work ethic, selflessness, and poise, and I expect that to be embodied with this team.”
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Johnson described himself as “ready for this next challenge” when asked about making the jump from offensive coordinator to head coach, and promised he wouldn’t take things lightly as he takes on the task of turning around the Bears.
“Every day in the NFL is a chance to make an impression. We are very blessed to have these jobs as coaches and players. It’s not something I take lightly. We have an obligation to each other and the game to max ourselves out each and every day,” he said.
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He also described his coaching style, one that he hopes to bring to the Bears this coming season.
“We’re always going to be attacking on offense,” he said. “We believe in multiplicity. We’re going to make things very challenging on the defense each and every week. We want the ability to morph, whether it’s 50 runs in a game or 50 passes in a game, it doesn’t matter.”