Ben Johnson has arrived in Chicago, and left Detroit in the past. Introduced Tuesday to a standing ovation from a room full of Bears employees at the team's headquarters, Johnson announced alongside his family, "This is exactly where we wanted to be."
The former offensive coordinator of the Lions is officially the head coach of the Bears.
"This is going to be a challenge, I’m well aware of that," Johnson said. "I know what this division’s about, and this is exactly where we want to be. We’re going to get after this thing, and it’s going to take all of us in this room. There’s nothing more important than that locker room, and us serving that locker room and those players. They need to understand that. They need to feel that from us every single day. And if we do that, the wins are going to come, the playoffs are going to come."
The Bears have one winning season in the last 12 years, and one playoff win in the last 18 years. They're hoping that Johnson, who oversaw a top-five NFL offense each of the last three seasons with the Lions, can change that with the help of quarterback Caleb Williams.