Bears HC Ben Johnson reveals if he'll carry Lions' strategies to Chicago

Newly crowned Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is shouldering a lot of expectations heading into 2025.

Johnson, who served as offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions throughout their impressive 2024 NFL season, was hired by the Bears shortly after the Lions' playoff exit in the Divisional Round to the Washington Commanders. Throughout the season, the Lions showed true grit and heart on the offensive side of the ball, and Bears fans are hoping some of that will carry over along with Johnson from Detroit.

Johnson was asked exactly this during his recent appearance on "Breakfast Ball" shortly after his hiring. He explained that the mindset and culture that determine a team's success are established early on in the spring, and based on what he has heard about the locker room he's inheriting, he has no doubts his team will step up to the plate.

"Listen," Johnson said. " It's a mindset that gets established early in the springtime, and it carries over throughout training camp. We talk about next man up, and we talk about handling resiliency and adversity and the grit that defined that particular team. And so listen, we're going to have our own spin okay, and we're going to have our own talking points, but it's going to be the Chicago way from here on out, and I'm looking forward to getting to know this locker room and this group of men, I hear nothing but high character and high remarks about this group."

Bears dropped Eberflus, hired Johnson amid high hopes for 2025 Season

The Bears parted ways with coach Matt Eberflus shortly after the team's 23-20 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions, firing Eberflus on Nov. 29. Eberflus became the first Bears coach to be relieved of his duties midseason. He was replaced by offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who was named interim coach for the remainder of the season. The Bears finished their season with a record of 5-12, a disappointing result after the team received considerable hype given the weapons they entered the year with.

Former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams remains at quarterback, surrounded by weapons such as DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift, and Cole Kmet. When Johnson and company get the wheels turning on the 2025 NFL season, he'll certainly have all the pieces on offense to have similar success to what he was able to produce in Detroit, and bring it over to "The Windy City."