Ben Johnson had made a name for himself because of his offensive mind, but the Chicago Bears' head coach has plenty more qualities that have allowed him to stand out in the NFL.
Ben Johnson is widely recognized as one of the NFL’s premier offensive minds, but there’s more to his coaching philosophy than just X’s and O’s.
The Bears' head coach brings an intense passion with the way he carries himself and leads his team. Johnson is tough. He demands a lot from his players. And that was evident from the way he made the offense re-huddle multiple times during OTAs for what seemed like small mistakes, such as players lining up a few feet off the intended landmark.
He set the tone early for what to expect later in the season.
When training camp started, his players learned what they were getting into. That included former safety Kevin Byard III. The veteran safety had completed 10 seasons in the NFL before Johnson coached him.
But that one season was different from all the rest. Byard joined Jordan Schultz on “The Schultz Report” to discuss various topics, including what it was like being with Johnson.
“I’ve told people this before, but out of my 10 years being in the NFL, that was the hardest training camp I ever had,” Byard said. “The hardest training camp I ever had. I mean, you’re talking about live tackle drills. I mean, I wasn’t expecting that from him because you think of an offensive guy, you know what I mean. Everything is kind of smooth. ‘I don’t want guys to get hurt.’ He was riling guys up, you know. This is the black and blue division. This is the NFC North, we got to make sure we callus up. …”
Byard also went on to say that some of his teammates asked him, as a captain, to speak to Johnson about the rigorous training camp, but ultimately, the veteran safety felt those conditions helped out the team.
“When you look back at it, it was so worth it,” Byard said. “Cause I think how this season kind of went, you know, how good we were in the run game, especially on offense, I just think how it was on defense, I think we needed that tough training camp. I think anytime you’re trying, you know, go somewhere you haven’t been, you have to do something you never done.”
Before the Bears' matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round, Byard revealed that Johnson made the team practice in the cold weather without heaters on the field. It was just another tactic Johnson utilized to help prepare his team for a game in frigid temperatures.
Johnson will likely be best known for his offensive mind, but his intensity and demanding nature played a big part in the Bears winning 11 games, clinching the NFC North and defeating the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.