New head coach Ben Johnson is ready to hold the Bears accountable: 'Get comfortable being uncomfortable'
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – The Bears had a coaching opening in large part because of how a 10-game losing streak and internal culture issues derailed their 2024 season.
With that as background, new Bears head coach Ben Johnson understands that addressing his locker room about accountability will be a key component of his job.
"Get comfortable being uncomfortable," Johnson said Wednesday at his introductory press conference at Halas Hall as he shared a message for Bears players. "The bar has been set higher than it's ever been set before. The only way for this team and for you as individual players to reach your potential is to be pushed and to be challenged, and that's exactly what I and my staff plan on doing. We're going to push. We're going to challenge.
"Everybody in this building is going to be all about helping you guys out. How do you become the best versions of yourselves? That's what it's going to be about from start to finish."
Johnson, 38, is a first-time head coach in leading the Bears. Despite a lack of experience in that role, Johnson checked the right boxes for Bears general manager Ryan Poles as it relates to leadership.
"Just the clear vision, how to put a winning football team together," Poles said. "Really, he hit on a lot of the accountability, discipline, how we're going to work to get where we need to get to. Some of the things that I know we fell short on this year, I'm confident that he's going to address those things pretty quickly. Then when you add the draft capital, the space that we have with the cap, we can do some damage to get this team where it needs to be."
The Bears are coming off a 5-12 season in which they fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29. It marked the first in-season dismissal of a head coach in franchise history.
Though the Bears have disappointed in recent years, Johnson believes they can reach the playoffs in his first year.
"There's no question, it can happen in 2025," Johnson said. "It depends on how hard we're willing to work and how much we're willing to sacrifice."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on X @CEmma670.
