New Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson wrapped up the opening statement of his introductory news conference Wednesday at Halas Hall with a declaration. “Our mission, starting this spring, is to win and to win now,” he told an audience of Bears executives, players and reporters. “I get goosebumps right now just thinking about being the head coach of the Chicago Bears. I know exactly what this role and this responsibility requires, and I cannot wait to get to work.” Johnson was asked to do a lot of talking Wednesday as the Bears unveiled their new coach to the public. After the 30-minute news conference, he was shuffled to TV and radio interviews and a smaller group chat with reporters. The idea was to let the NFL’s most sought-after new coach explain how he plans to get the Bears from 5-12 in 2024 to winning — and winning now. Along with why the Bears were the right fit and how he will mesh with quarterback Caleb Williams, here are 10 things we heard about that quest at Johnson’s introduction. 1. Johnson believes he and general manager Ryan Poles will be ‘in lockstep every step of the way.’ Poles and Johnson just missed working together at Boston College. Poles was a graduate assistant there in 2008 before leaving for the Kansas City Chiefs. Johnson arrived as a graduate assistant in 2009 and even worked in the same tiny cubicle Poles had occupied. So as they explored whether their union would work in the weeks leading up to Johnson’s hiring, they had mutual connections that could help them out. “A lot of our friends, a lot of people that we trust, connected both of us,” Poles said. “And then when we got on the call and spent time with each other, there was just a vibe to it that was awesome.” The Bears hired Johnson without doing an in-person interview, but Johnson said he and Poles spent time alone on the video conference to see if they meshed. Johnson said he came away believing in Poles’ character and integrity. There was speculation over the last couple of months whether Johnson would want to bring in his own GM. Johnson said he just needed to see during his interview that Chairman George McCaskey, President Kevin Warren and Poles were aligned as a group. Inside the Ben Johnson hiring: What convinced him Chicago Bears are ‘set up for success’ — and how they were ‘ready to pounce’ “I like to think that I’m a low-ego guy, low-maintenance guy. The whole control factor, I don’t need that,” Johnson said. “I just need somebody that I can trust. “In the past when I’ve seen it not work, there’s been dysfunction, there’s been an element of disconnect between the GM, the head coach, other executives, and quite frankly, I did not feel that here. I see nothing but lockstep between Kevin, George and Ryan, and I really believe we’re going to have each other’s backs.” Poles said working with Johnson on personnel will come easily. Part of the Bears’ interview process was asking how Johnson would handle discrepancies when it came to player acquisition, and Poles said Johnson answered “perfectly.” “It’s spending time and watching tape together to figure out what direction we need to go in,” Poles said. “We’re going to have different opinions, we’re going to see players differently, but it’s coming together, watching tape and figuring out what’s best for the organization.” 2. Johnson said accountability and integrity will be ‘cornerstones’ of the culture he wants to build. New Bears coach Ben Johnson, left, speaks with Chairman George McCaskey after being introduced at a news conference on Jan. 22, 2025, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) During the interview, Poles said Johnson zeroed in on accountability and discipline as things he would look to address quickly. Johnson believes the standards need to be set in the spring when he first gets together with his players. The word “accountability” was notable because players and coaches often used it as an explanation for what went wrong under former coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in 2024. Ben Johnson is the 19th head coach of the Chicago Bears. Here’s a look at how past coaches fared — and when they left the franchise. “Accountability is really we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do and we’re going to be who we say we’re going to be,” Johnson said. “And if we fall short of that standard, then there has to be consequences to that. That can look a number of different ways, but we are going to get to the point when we are winning here where our veteran players are going to take over the accountability portion of it. “Until we get there, though, it’s going to be on us as the coaching staff to outline what it should look like, what a Chicago Bear is going to look like, what that professional work ethic is going to look like.” Poles talked about how Johnson can help quarterback Caleb Williams better understand what it means to be a professional football player and how to do the little things the right way. And Williams said he’s eager for Johnson to bring that challenge to the whole team. “Being able to bring the accountability, being able to bring the discipline,” Williams said. “If guys are stepping out of line … and you’re not doing the right things, you’ve got to be put out on blast in front of the whole team. Because that shows the accountability. That shows the discipline that he talked about up there.” 3. Johnson believes he is more prepared now than he was last year to take a head coaching job. He said he wasn’t “emotionally available” last offseason when he received interviews. He still was sorting through the Lions’ loss in the NFC championship game and ultimately decided to return to Detroit. “My emotions got the better of me at that point, and I decided quite early on that I wanted to come back and take another shot at that in Detroit,” Johnson said. “This year, this offseason, summer, I was able to do a lot more thinking … (about) what it would look like as the head coach. I just felt a lot more comfortable in terms of making that jump, regardless of how the season ended in Detroit.” Column: George McCaskey gets a rare ‘W’ with the hiring of Ben Johnson as the next Chicago Bears coach Johnson said he is leaving the Lions in a good spot to continue to contend and now is ready for the “next challenge” in Chicago. A year ago, he wasn’t sure he fully comprehended how to make all of the duties of a head coach work: running the offense while also being heavily involved with the defense and special teams, as he plans to be. “I’m in a much better space right now in terms of time management, how I can be involved with all three phases,” he said. 4. Johnson pointed to his path as one reason he will be able to master that transition. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson sits on the bench during a game against the Bills on Dec. 15, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images) He acknowledged the major differences in responsibilities between being a coordinator in charge of one unit and overseeing an entire team. It’s a different job description but one Johnson believes he’s ready to tackle. He pointed to his climb up the coaching ladder as proof he can be successful no matter what he does. He began as a graduate assistant at Boston College in 2009, leaped to the NFL as an offensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins in 2012, coached three positions in Miami and spent one season in Detroit as a quality control coach and two as tight ends coach before being promoted to coordinator. Column: Guided by self-awareness, Ben Johnson is finally prepared for his role as head coach of the Chicago Bears “I was the best in every role as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “That’s how I view it. Point blank. “I didn’t take any shortcuts. I wasn’t a former player who was able to accelerate through this. I went the long road. I went the hard road. I didn’t have a famous last name or a dad who got me to where I am today. I had to work at it. “And I failed along the way as well, and somehow I was able to — despite being on the street and having to hit the reset button — come back from the ashes and found a way to get it done.” 5. Johnson is proud of his journey and believes it will help him with a successful launch at Halas Hall. “A lot of things had to work in my favor along the way,” he said. “I’ve been around a lot of incredible people who I will forever be grateful for. But there is no shortage of confidence within myself. Our players will feel that.” From George Halas to Ben Johnson: What was said about every Chicago Bears coach when they were hired As for why he believes so strongly that he will excel in a role he never has had at any level? “What gives me the confidence is the players that I was just with (in Detroit) and the respect level that they have for me,” he said, “along with the people who I trusted in that building who would come up to me time and time again and assure me I’m ready.” Included on that list were Lions special assistant to the president/CEO Chris Spielman and quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell. “They saw me in front of the room, saw me in the meeting room,” Johnson said. “They believe in me. I believe in myself. I’m ready for this next challenge.” 6. Johnson still leans into the strategic guidance of former Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop. Bears quarterbacks coach John Shoop, right, talks to Cade McNown on Sept. 12, 1999. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune) Shoop, who led the Bears offense from 2001-03 and was quarterbacks coach for two years before that, first crossed paths with Johnson in 2007 in Chapel Hill, N.C., when Shoop became North Carolina’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Butch Davis. Johnson was a backup quarterback at the time who originally walked on with the Tar Heels. One of Johnson’s most repeated offensive philosophies was lifted directly from the book of Shoop. Make the same things look different and different things look the same. Be ready to hear that mantra from Johnson early and often. “We want the defense on their heels,” he said. “We are always going to be attacking on offense. We believe in multiplicity — and that’s both formationally and conceptually.” When Johnson talks about offensive balance, he sees the push to have the running game complement the passing game and vice versa as a season-long mission that might have a very different flow from game to game. “We want the ability to morph,” he said. “Whether it’s 50 runs in a game or 50 passes in a game, it does not matter. … Those are the broad strokes of what this is going to look like. “But it’s not going to look like it did in Detroit. We have a completely different personnel group than what we had in Detroit. This entire offense is going to be predicated on the guys we have available.” 7. Poles believes in Johnson’s success with the run game. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs runs for a touchdown past 49ers cornerback Renardo Green on Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn) While much of the focus is rightfully on how Johnson will elevate Williams’ game, Poles also noted the importance of Johnson’s running game. The Lions boasted the second-best passing offense in the NFL this season, averaging 263.2 yards. But behind running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, they also ranked sixth with 146.4 rushing yards per game and ninth with 4.66 yards per rush. Poles said the balance has to be present in a place like Chicago. “There are going to be parts of the season where Caleb has got to throw it 50 times and we’ve got to air it out, and that’s awesome,” Poles said. “But we all know when we get late in the season — and I would love to have some home games in January — we’ve got to be able to run the football. “Just turn on the playoffs right now. Everyone is running the ball in bad weather, so that has to be a part of your identity.” 8. Johnson envisions a ‘physical, detailed, smart’ defense with an emphasis on disrupting the quarterback. Saints coach Dennis Allen instructs during practice in Metairie, La., on May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) What exactly that defense will look like will depend on whom Johnson hires to be his defensive coordinator. He said he sees a number of really good candidates for the position and has been pleased with the number of people who have reached out about it. Former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen was among the first names to be publicly linked to the job. Johnson said he hasn’t met Allen, but he was impressed with Allen’s defense when the Lions played the Saints and heard good things about him from Lions coaches Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn. “Everywhere he has been along the way, they have been a top third-down team, a top red-zone team,” Johnson said. “So there are a lot of pillars about what he does schematically that would be appealing to me.” When looking at the defensive pieces in place, Johnson said he was most impressed with the Bears’ 2023 run defense, which gave the Lions fits. He noted that fell off this season with nose tackle Andrew Billings injured. “Him being out, we could feel that when we played Chicago,” Johnson said. He also called nickel back Kyler Gordon “phenomenal,” praised linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards for their ability to diagnose and react and singled out cornerback Jaylon Johnson. “Jaylon Johnson, last year and the year before, we really didn’t want to throw it his way,” Johnson said. “He’s that caliber of corner right now. He’s playing at that level.” 9. Johnson has a vision for what he’s seeking in his offensive coordinator. Johnson will call plays for the Bears offense. As he assembles his coaching staff, he knows his right-hand man on the offense must embody certain traits. How will new Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson elevate Caleb Williams? ‘This offense will be calibrated with him in mind.’ “It’s going to be critical for me to find somebody who can organize and structure and set the table, particularly early in the week,” Johnson said. “I have been around a number of (head coaches) who have called plays in the past. And I’ve seen the potential pitfalls that can arise as you’re approaching the entire football team and you can’t get to watching as much tape early in the week as you possibly could. “The offensive coordinator here is going to have to be somebody who I not only trust but will be extremely detail-oriented, organized and structured to set the table. And also be willing to work late nights.” 10. Johnson was forthright in acknowledging the Bears need to strengthen the offensive line. Related Articles Chicago Bears | Antwaan Randle El headed home to join new coach Ben Johnson’s staff with the Chicago Bears Chicago Bears | Las Vegas Raiders agree to hire 73-year-old Pete Carroll as their coach Chicago Bears | Ben Johnson is the 19th Chicago Bears head coach. Here’s a look at how past coaches fared — and why they left. Chicago Bears | From George Halas to Ben Johnson: What was said about every Chicago Bears coach when they were hired Chicago Bears | Inside the Ben Johnson hiring: What convinced him Chicago Bears are ‘set up for success’ — and how they were ‘ready to pounce’ The Lions averaged an NFL-best 33.2 points per game this season and scored 68 offensive touchdowns. They had the league’s No. 2 passing offense and No. 6 rushing offense. Quarterback Jared Goff is headed to the Pro Bowl after throwing for 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns with an NFC-best 111.8 passer rating. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs will join him after totaling 1,929 yards from scrimmage and a league-high 20 touchdowns. All of that success was catalyzed by a talented, experienced offensive line that featured four former first-round picks and two Pro Bowl honorees this season in right tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow. The Bears, it has been well-documented, don’t have anything like that up front. Strengthening the offensive line will be a top priority if Johnson wants to eventually create similar productivity. “The offensive line is certainly an area we need to get better play from going forward,” Johnson said. “It’s something that Ryan and I have already talked about. We will develop a plan of attack for how to get that done.” The Bears had 10 linemen make at least one start this season and have three three interior starters — Coleman Shelton, Teven Jenkins and Matt Pryor — whose contracts expire in March. The quest for improvement is underway. “I’m looking forward to getting an excellent offensive line coach in the building to help develop the young talent we already have on the roster,” Johnson said. “And we will certainly talk about acquiring talent to bolster that unit as well.”