When Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears, he came with quite the reputation. Everyone knew he was an offensive guru.
But, beyond just the offensive impact, Johnson is already making a far greater imprint on this Bears team, and backup quarterback Tyson Bagent has noticed.
"He can go down the rabbit hole of every situation in football, with every position in football, which I think has been most impressive," Bagent told the Bears media. "... obviously he is an offensive guy, but you can kind of see him going down the rabbit hole with the defense in team meetings of what he's expecting on the defensive side of the ball."
Ben Johnson keeps proving the Bears right even before coaching a regular season game
This falls right in line from everything we have heard about Johnson since Day 1. Many fans remember Johnson telling his team that he will be coaching them hard, but won't ask them to do anything he and the coaches wouldn't do themselves.
This is the perfect example, because Johnson is coming in not only as an offensive guy, but he is walking the walk with his defensive players as well. If players are noticing his football IQ is stemming into the defense, too, that speaks volumes.
"And really the most impressive thing is when he does that, he speaks that same language that the defense is speaking," Bagent said.
If we were to go back a year and, let's say we heard this same type of commentary about Matt Eberflus, fans would be preparing for the worst. Eberflus having a hand in the offense sounds like a nightmare.
But, Johnson being involved with the defense, and proving to be a high-level thinker on that side of the ball?
That's a revelation for most Bears fans.
He just continues to prove Ryan Poles made the right decision. Somehow, some way, the Bears were able to get the coach who was most coveted, and it still feels surreal.