Ben Johnson
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Bears coach Ben Johnson has been building to his head-coaching debut for years.
Ben Johnson’s journey to the Chicago Bears head-coaching role has been loaded with trials and tribulations.
So even though the Bears head coach is at the top of his craft, he is reflective about the things that led to his first game as a head coach, Monday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Johnson, specifically, was reflective about his tenure with the Miami Dolphins and why getting fired by them for a brief-but-meaningful period led to his success both with the Detroit Lions and landing with the Bears.
What Did Ben Johnson Say About Getting Fired By The Dolphins?
ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin did an exposé on Johnson that published Monday, where she specifically referenced his tenure with the Dolphins.
It was there, where he met Campbell, after the then-tight ends coach took over as interim coach after Miami fired coach Joe Philbin midseason.
Johnson, who was assistant-QBs coach and coached the tight ends with Campbell, was retained when Campbell was replaced by Adam Gase, but was then relieved of his duties when Gase was fired and replaced by Brian Flores for the 2019 season.
“The humbling part was being on the street and seeing the NFL offseason and training camp move on without you,” Johnson told ESPN.com.
But he wasn’t out of work long. At the end of training camp in 2019, it was Campbell who brought Johnson in, first as quality-control coach — a demotion — before he worked his way up the ladder in Detroit.
“It wasn’t humbling for me to go to Detroit and take a lower position,” Johnson said. “When football gets taken away from you and you get it back finally, it doesn’t matter what role you’re in, you’re going to appreciate every second of it.”
What Did Ben Johnson Learn While Coaching in Detroit?
Johnson’s biggest take away while coaching under Dan Campbell was embracing swagger and managing the Lions’ exorbitant expectations — especially in a city pent up after never appearing in the Super Bowl.
“What I learned most over the last four years actually came last year, and that was how to handle the high expectations,” Johnson said. “And I probably initially would’ve thought, ‘Hey, downplay those and just focus on the main thing, focus on the next practice or the next game.’
“Whereas Dan really embraced them and said, ‘Come on in, we do have the target on our back.’ It was cool to see how the players responded to it, because I thought they handled it really well. It wasn’t so much downplay and be humble about it, no, it’s, ‘Hey, yeah, we are the big dogs’ and ‘Come and get us.'”
For the Bears, who have been a sub-.500 team four straight years and have not won a playoff game since 2010, Johnson is hoping to develop that facet since they have a nice young core, led by quarterback Caleb Williams.
“It’s a fine line,” Johnson said. “At times you might overstep it, and it might come across as arrogant or cocky, but I would rather do that than be unsure or play slow or be unconfident.
“It’s a balancing act, and it’s a fun thing to navigate.”