LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – After each of the Bears’ victories in their current four-game winning streak, head coach Ben Johnson has gathered his team in the locker room to relish in their achievement that day.
Johnson is authentically himself in addressing the Bears, speaking with passion and energy that has become familiar inside Halas Hall in his first year on the job. Then, Johnson breaks down the celebration with a chant.
It started after the Bears' 31-14 win against the Cowboys on Sept. 21. Johnson asked the team to repeat after him, and the players have been following his lead in the postgame locker room since.
Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Til your good becomes your better and your better becomes your best.
For the 39-year-old Johnson, the mantra was pulled from his past. Back in 2002, he led A.C. Reynolds High School to the North Carolina 4A state title. Johnson was a junior quarterback for the team, and he remembers hearing that chant in the locker room standing alongside his father, Don, who was an assistant coach while he was growing up.
That rallying cry was carried by Johnson from Asheville to Chicago.
“We were a darn good high school team,” Johnson said Friday with emotion in his voice. “And probably about 25 or 30 years there, it wasn’t whether we were going to the playoffs – it was how far we were going to make it in the playoffs. Just a fond memory of mine growing up postgame in that locker room.
“I remember being in that locker room, and that was just the rallying cry at that time. I think there’s something to be said when a group of men, they’re all believing the same thing, they’re saying the same thing, it’s one heartbeat, one voice. And I think our guys have enjoyed it.”
After an 0-2 start, the Bears have won four straight games. Johnson has prioritized instilling a new culture in a franchise that has been to the playoffs just twice since 2011.
Johnson has the Bears believing that their good is becoming better and their better will lead to their best.
"The mission has always been to win and to win now,” Johnson said. “I said that in my opening press conference, and I’ve been consistent about that with the team.
“I don’t see this as a team in transition. This is the 2025 Chicago Bears, and we have a chance to put a stamp on what this chapter of Chicago Bears history is going to look like."
The Bears will visit the Ravens (1-5) on Sunday, with kickoff set for noon CT from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.