Bears coach Ben Johnson says his offense won’t ‘look the same as it did in Detroit’

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Ben Johnson on joining the Bears and sharing accountability Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams’ talent and what excites him about coaching the star QB

Ben Johnson vowed, in so many words, not to make the same mistake that cost former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus his job.

Johnson joined FS1’s “Breakfast Ball” and “The Herd” on Thursday and was asked what he’d do if his quarterback took a sack in the final seconds of their Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions with a timeout in his pocket.

“We’re not going there today,” Johnson said with a laugh, though he motioned as if he would’ve called a timeout in that scenario.

Of course, this actually happened in the Bears’ November loss to the Lions. Instead of calling a timeout after Caleb Williams took a sack with just over 30 seconds left, Eberflus let the clock run down before the Bears ran a half-hearted Hail Mary attempt on the final play of their eventual 23-20 loss.

Eberflus was promptly fired the next day, opening up one of the more intriguing head coaching jobs in the NFL.

Johnson, who was formerly the Lions’ offensive coordinator and arguably the most sought-after head coach candidate this offseason, has cited Williams as one of the main reasons he took the job. But after Williams’ relatively underwhelming rookie season — 3,541 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, 489 rushing yards and a 5-12 record as a starter — Johnson knows that he still has a bit of a way to go, and he has a development plan in place for the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Ben Johnson on joining the Bears and sharing accountability

“You bring up accountability, and that’s going to be at the cornerstone of what we do here,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be integrity. It’s going to be accountability — be who we say we’re going to be and be what we say we’re going to do. So, we’ll come to an agreement. We’ll have a plan. We’re going to end up executing that agreement. If anything falls short, we’ll call each other out.

“It’s going to be coaches and players, we’re going to have great dialogue between each other. That goes to the quarterback as well.”

What made Johnson one of the top coaching commodities was how quickly he turned around the Lions offense, taking it from the bottom of the league when he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022 to the highest-scoring offense in the league this past season. His creative playcalling and work with veteran Jared Goff to revive the quarterback’s career were two big reasons for Detroit’s offensive success, making it easy to envision what he could do with a dual-threat quarterback like Williams.

Johnson said it “remains to be seen” how his offense in Chicago will resemble his offense in Detroit, adding that he doesn’t know Williams well enough yet to establish that. He did recognize that Williams and Goff are two different players, saying he was “encouraged” by what he saw from the rookie signal-caller in 2024.

“Obviously, he’s a different player and has a different skill set than Jared did, and I’ll be excited to see what direction we go,” Johnson said. “It’s going to morph. It’s not going to look the same as it did in Detroit. There are elements that I do believe in. We want the same things to look different, different things to look the same, multiplicity, the defense on their heels and guessing at all times.

“At the end of the day, Caleb is going to really dictate the direction of where this offense goes and what we end up looking like.”

One of those elements is committing to the run game. In Detroit, Johnson had one of the best running back duos in the league in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. They certainly helped Goff, and Johnson is hoping to duplicate that success in Chicago.

“The number one deciding factor in winning and losing games right now is quarterback success and efficiency,” Johnson said. “But the best way you can help that, for a young player especially, is to have a great running game. That’s something we’re going to hang our hat on. We’ll see how well we improve upfront. I like the backs we already have on the roster, and we could certainly look to augment that position. But it’s going to start there.”

Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams’ talent and what excites him about coaching the star QB

Johnson’s ability to elevate the Lions offense, in turn, made Detroit one of the best teams in football over the last two seasons. The Lions have won back-to-back NFC North titles, going 15-2 this past season before their surprising divisional-round exit at the hands of the Washington Commanders.

As Johnson admitted that the Bears offense will look different from his Lions offenses in the past, there are some things he wants to take from his old boss, Dan Campbell, to the Windy City.

“Ultimately, it came down to the identity they established in Detroit was all about grit, being able to handle adversity and fighting through the tough times,” Johnson shared. “That’s what that started with in Year 1, and you saw it come to fruition again this year with all of the injuries that team faced to still fight through it and come away with 15 wins, a division title and the No. 1 seed.

“This league is going to knock you down, and you’ve gotta get back up. That mindset and mentality are going to be carried over here to Chicago. It’s not going to be said exactly the same way. I’m not Dan Campbell, and it’s going to be my own spin on it, but identity and those terms will still apply here.”

That culture helped the Lions reach heights they’ve never seen in franchise history as the 2024 season was the first time they ever earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Bears have a little bit more success than the Lions, but their lone Super Bowl win came in 1985, and they’ve only played in one Super Bowl since then.

Just like Campbell did in Detroit, Johnson is hoping to revitalize a football town.

“I know what a great sports town this is,” Johnson said. “I want, desperately, to be successful here in football.”

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