The Chicago Bears are back on the practice field this week, as part of the OTA portion of their offseason program, and Ben Johnson is already proving to be a master at one trait that Matt Eberflus was never able to understand during his tenure as the Bears' head coach.
Of course, that trait is accountability. The lack of accountability is the one thing that may have doomed Eberflus' tenure the most. Beyond not holding his coaching staff accountable for the failed development of Justin Fields or abandoning the development of Caleb Williams, or being inconsistent with how he handled accountability for players, Eberflus never held himself accountable.
If a head coach is going to have control of his locker room, he needs to be accountable to himself. Johnson doesn't even have a game under his belt as a head coach, but already seems to understand that more than Eberflus did.
Johnson's agitation with the Bears' pre-snap process was visible to reporters on Wednesday, and when asked about it, the Bears' head coach did not shy away from critiquing himself.
Ben Johnson's accountability is a breath of fresh air
Johnson's comments also seem to be a correction of one of the biggest failures of Eberflus' coaching staff last season. Beyond the players going on record and saying they weren't being coached hard enough, after the season, Ryan Poles confirmed as much by saying some bad habits were noticed during the Bears' offseason program last year. That won't be the case if with Johnson if he is already agitated on the second day of the Bears' OTA practice.
It may seem elementary, but Johnson is saying all the right things and backing up his words with action. While that often is the expectation with an NFL head coach, Eberflus' tenure with the Bears proves that isn't always the result. As we wait for the games to officially begin, it continues to seem that the Bears are headed in the right direction under Johnson.