A year ago at around this time, with the first draft class of his tenure as head coach in the books, the Chicago Bears were still hoping Ben Johnson would be able to set the foundation of a new culture and bring sustainable success to a franchise that had struggled to find it.
Time will tell if the Bears are able to string together multiple successful seasons for the first time in 40 years, give or take, but so far, so good with a division title and a playoff win last season. Most importantly, Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles appear to be as aligned as any head coach and GM in the league, and everyone in the organization has bought in.
Now, as is always the challenge for a team that rose up so much from one season to the next, the Bears are trying to take the next step to stacking playoff wins.
Ben Johnson says it all about the difference a year makes for the Bears
After the 2026 draft was in the books, Johnson and Poles met with reporters to talk about the Bears' draft class and the general process that landed them those players.
During his opening statement, Johnson praised Poles and the Bears' scouting staff for finding players who "fit our DNA and what we wanna be about." At a certain point, talent is not a great differentiator in vetting draft prospects, and the Bears want players who fit their intangible "DNA" just as much as anything they can offer on the field.
The Bears' head coach then talked about the differences between Year 1 and Year 2 with the coaching staff, etc., which mostly remain in place.
"You would hope from Year 1 to Year 2, with this coaching staff and personnel department. We're so much further along than we were a year ago at this time", Johnson said. "So that's what's encouraging to me, and Ryan."
The Bears' coaching staff knows what they want or need, and Johnson obviously gives the group a prominent voice in the room when it comes time to find players. The front office, led by Poles, puts in months of work to find players who fit that vision in every way possible.
No draft, for any team, is perfect, and it'll be a few years before anyone can confidently assess 2025. But what is undeniably true right now, regardless of individual players' results, is the top-to-bottom organizational alignment to find the best fits for the Chicago Bears.
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One plan, working toward one clearly constructed vision, with everyone pulling in the same direction. The Bears haven't seemed to have that in a long time, and different is very, very good as they look to build on last season.
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