Ben Johnson has put together a streak of six wins in his last seven games. The last Chicago Bears head coach to do that was Matt Nagy in 2018. One would think that means the two have a lot in common. Both were former quarterbacks, had extension backgrounds as offensive assistants, and found instant stardom as coordinators. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two of them. Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times noticed it after covering both coaches.
He explained to 670 The Score that Nagy tended to exaggerate wins as if they were bigger than they actually were. He’d tell players they were all that. Nothing could stop them. While that can be motivating to hear, it also risks making a team overconfident. Johnson is nothing like that. He’s made it crystal clear to the locker room that they have not performed at a high enough level. Yes, they’re 6-3. That doesn’t mean this team has somehow arrived. Champions don’t look like this.
They must be better.
Ben Johnson believes in a proven approach for head coaches.
That is the stance of never being satisfied. You’ll often find that some of the most successful head coaches in sports can always find things to correct with players, even if they’ve just blown out an opponent or even won a championship. Chuck Noll, Bill Parcells, Don Shula, and Bill Belichick are prominent examples. Some players don’t like that. It can sometimes make the game difficult to enjoy, but you can’t argue the results. Resting on your laurels leads to a dulling of focus. Once that happens, your chances of winning drop.
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Ben Johnson has no intention of letting that happen. Players may hate his demanding style. That is fine. As long as they do their jobs, it doesn’t matter. He isn’t there to make friends. He is there to win. Nagy seemed to forget that reality at times.