(670 The Score) With a few key newcomers joining the Bears and playing for first-time head coach Ben Johnson, one might think a cautious acclimation process will be put in place.
But that isn’t how Johnson plans to operate. He’s planning to challenge the Bears in his first season, starting during the offseason program in April. When asked Thursday about attempting to create an “easy” transition for his new team, Johnson shot back at that notion.
“It shouldn’t be easy,” Johnson said at Halas Hall. “This should be hard. The spring should be hard. Training camp should be hard. Anything worth doing is hard. So, it’s going to take a lot of work, it’s going to take a lot of effort. In particular, Year 1, we should not be comfortable as we’re coming into the spring time. We’re going to load these guys up. We’re going to see what they can handle. We’re going to fail, and that’s OK. That’s part of how you learn, how you grow and get better. So, we’re going to encourage that as a coaching staff. Nothing about this is about making it easier. It’s going to be fun.”
The Bears have upgraded their roster across the past two weeks with new additions through trades and free agency. Chicago acquired All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and guard Jonah Jackson through trades and signed center Drew Dalman, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo and tight end Durham Smythe in free agency.
The Bears went 5-12 last season and fired head coach Matt Eberflus in late November. Johnson was officially hired as the team’s new head coach on Jan. 21.