LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) — Veteran receiver Kalif Raymond heard the now-renowned “good, better, best” chant before it arrived in Chicago with Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
Raymond spent four years with Johnson in Detroit as Johnson established himself as a rising assistant with the Lions and a head coach in waiting. Raymond got a sense of what makes Johnson click and a feeling that he'd be successful leading a team like the Bears as head coach.
"I’ll never forget the first day he had everybody saying, 'good, better, best,’” Raymond said Thursday after officially signing his one-year deal with the Bears. “You’re not used to doing chants and everything like that. And then we started winning. And then he started doing it here and everybody’s winning. So, I’m like, 'Well, we better be good, better, best, then.' It’s a testament to who he is.
“He’s not taking his shirt off because he wants to look good. He’s taking his shirt off because he probably slept three hours that week and put all the work in to go win the game. It’s a testament to who he is, and I’m proud of him."
The Bears are coming off a breakthrough 2025 season with Johnson at the helm, one in which they went from worst to first to win the NFC North and secured the franchise's first playoff victory in 15 years.
Now, the Bears are dealing with the realities of their financial situation in a league in which parity reigns supreme. Sustaining success can be a challenge with a salary cap in place. The Bears have parted ways with a handful of key players this offseason, including receiver DJ Moore, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, All-Pro safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Nahshon Wright.
The Bears have signed safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush to three-year contracts and added defensive tackle Neville Gallimore on a two-year deal. Poles has also been at work re-signing key role players, but there has been no blockbuster move to acquire Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby in a trade. Poles also didn't break the bank to sign center Tyler Linderbaum (Raiders) or defensive end Trey Hendrickson (Ravens) in free agency.
It has been a prudent approach, which is in line with what Poles has prioritized in his Bears tenure.
"We want to sustain success,” Poles said. “We’ve talked about that a lot. In order to do that, we have to be very calculated with the moves we make. So, when we were looking through different situations, we took that into account."
On Thursday, Poles left the door open ever so slightly to acquiring Crosby, who remains with the Raiders after the Ravens recently backed out of a trade agreement to acquire him due to medical concerns. But when Poles speaks of sustained success, he’s signaling the Bears have no desire to trade two first-round picks for Crosby. If they did, Crosby could’ve been standing alongside the Bears' new additions Thursday at Halas Hall.
The Bears are leaning on what they established in 2025 to carry them forward – the emergence of 24-year-old quarterback Caleb Williams and the foundation established by Johnson. Poles believes that Chicago is well positioned for lasting success.
“They have their culture set, and so I'm not coming in to try and re-establish anything,” said veteran center Garrett Bradbury, who was recently acquired by the Bears in a trade. “I'm just trying to learn from these guys.
“They won the division last year, they had success, won a playoff game. Like, I’m not coming in to try and change anything. I'm coming in to help.”
The 26-year-old Bryant is just weeks removed from a parade through the streets of Seattle to celebrate the Seahawks’ championship. He has landed in Chicago eager to experience the same with the Bears. Bradbury played on the other side of that recent Super Bowl with the Patriots, then was cast off in an unexpected trade. Raymond, Gallimore and Bush have each bounced around with several teams but now see the opportunity to establish a home with the Bears.
No longer are the Bears seeking veteran players to help establish a foundation. They've already established one. Now it's about building off their success in 2025 and balancing what's best for the organization at every turn.
“Just constantly looking at short term, long term,” Poles said. “What’s going to help this football team now? But also, being conscious of what’s going to happen down the road.
“That was the best thing for us.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for TheScoreChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.