While the pair only spent one year together in South Florida, Smythe's early impression of Johnson remains a vivid memory.
"The thing that stuck out to me was just how fired up he was every day ,even to go to practice," Durham said, "He would wear cleats out to practice and get out there and run with the guys and go through drills with the guys. That's something that stuck out immediately, especially not knowing anything. That was my first experience in the NFL, and this guy's out here, coaching receivers with cleats on and running around."
Sure, Smythe knew Johnson couldn't put a helmet on and keep up with then-Dolphins receivers Kenny Stills or DeVante Parker, but the tight end thought he held his own for a coach.
While recalling that experience elicits some laughter from Smythe now, back when he was a rookie, Johnson's energy felt welcoming and refreshing.
"Another cool part of it is he obviously is still a very young head coach in the league, but he was young on that Miami staff," Smythe said. "So, coming in as a 22-, 23-year-old, it was cool to talk to a guy that's in your relative age bracket. He was just easy to get along with, and like I said, very fired up about the day-to-day, not just the goal. It was also about practice, the journey, things like that."
As a young coach for the Dolphins who was first hired in 2012 as an offensive assistant, Johnson searched for ways to create and foster close relationships with his players, no matter what position he was coaching.
His idea to run drills with the wideouts was a page taken out of former NFL receiver Shawn Jefferson's coaching book. Jefferson coached Miami's receivers from 2016-18 while Johnson was the assistant receivers coach.
"We felt like at the time that individual period should be the most taxing part of practice — that was just our philosophy," Johnson said. "So, I would be as sweaty as the players would be by the time we got done with that.
"We're all in it together, so it was just a just a way of sharing that."
As he recalls those memories from 2018, Johnson laughs at the thought of putting those cleats on today.
"The types of drills that we had set up were a little bit demanding," Johnson said. "I couldn't do them anymore."
While Smythe won't have Johnson running around the practice field with him in Chicago, the tight end is just ready to get back to work with his first-year head coach.
"More than anything, what you see is what you get with Ben," Smythe said. "He's fired up to be here. He's fired up to take over a very storied franchise and I'm excited to be a part of it."