It had been a long time since this city felt legitimate, long-term hope for these Chicago Bears. But, in the matter of just one season, hope was restored.
The Bears finally brought in the right head coach. At last, we saw what the right head coach does for our very own team here in Chicago. Ben Johnson was a revelation in every sense of the word, and he's going to be around a while.
In a recent social media post, former NFL quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his first-ever "LFG Awards." When he got to his Coach of the Year award, he actually couldn't narrow it down past his top four. But that included Johnson.
"I got Ben Johnson in Chicago, ridiculous year. How he taught Caleb to run the offense he wanted to run, play to the skill sets of the guys was insane."
Not that Bears fans needed it, and not that Johnson even needed it, but getting that type of validation from the greatest quarterback to ever play this game? That's well-deserved.
Ben Johnson is a finalist for the AP Coach of the Year
Announced just a few days back, Johnson was named a finalist for the real deal. Not to say Brady's award is meaningless -- it's not -- but Johnson could actually end up bringing home the hardware as the NFL's Coach of the Year.
He has some stiff competition, though, as two of the other four finalists are getting set to play in Super Bowl LX.
Johnson is joined by Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, one of whom will be hoisting a Lombardi Trophy in the coming days. Alongside Johnson, Macdonald, and Vrabel, there are two others: San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
This is one of the toughest years, in quite some time, when it comes to competition for the award. It's no wonder why Brady couldn't pick just one. There is reason to believe that any one of the above five names could win.
Now, more important than winning this award or the ones Brady hands out is, of course, winning a championship. That's what Johnson is here to do in Chicago. That's what he's going to watch one of his peers do on Sunday.
Read more: Mike Singletary’s words on Ben Johnson hit different for long-suffering Bears fans
And rest assured, it sure looks like he is on his way to bringing a long-awaited second Super Bowl to the Bears. It's only a matter of time.