On the one-year anniversary of his hiring, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t come to his season-ending press conference with platitudes or polished sound bites. He came with truth. And in a league where coach-speak is often the norm, Johnson’s unfiltered honesty cut through like a cold wind off Lake Michigan.
“There is no building off of this,” Johnson said, eyes steady, voice unwavering. “We’re back to square one.
We’re back at the bottom again. And that’s all 32 teams.
If you feel otherwise, you’re probably missing the big picture.”
That wasn’t just coach talk. That was a message - to his players, to the front office, to the city.
No shortcuts. No resting on what was.
The 2025 season brought real progress, but Johnson made it clear: progress isn’t the finish line.
A New Standard in Chicago
For Bears fans, that kind of accountability is a breath of fresh air. They’ve seen what happens when leadership goes missing - the Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus eras were defined by inconsistency, vague explanations, and a disconnect between the locker room and the sideline. Johnson, in contrast, has brought a sense of direction and authenticity that’s been missing in Chicago for far too long.
The 2025 Bears gave this city something it hadn’t felt in years: hope that felt real. A defense that swarmed, an offense that showed flashes of resilience, and a team that played with purpose.
But Johnson isn’t interested in celebrating close calls or moral victories. He knows the NFL doesn’t hand out trophies for “almost.”
The Work Left to Do
Let’s be clear - this team still has work to do. There were too many pre-snap penalties, too many dropped passes that stalled drives or killed momentum. And while the defense was opportunistic - leading the league in takeaways - counting on that kind of turnover luck to repeat is a gamble no smart coach would make.
Johnson gets that. He’s not banking on momentum carrying over.
He’s not assuming that just because the Bears made noise this year, they’ll be back in the mix next fall. That’s not how it works, and he knows it.
That’s why his words matter. “We’re back at the bottom.”
It’s not defeatist - it’s a challenge. A reminder that in this league, every season is a reset.
What you did last year doesn’t buy you anything in September.
A City Reignited
Still, you can’t ignore the shift in energy around this team. The playoffs brought out a version of Chicago that’s been dormant - a city that believes again.
Soldier Field was rocking. The players felt it.
The fans lived it. And for the first time in a long time, the Bears felt like more than just a team - they felt like a movement.
That connection between the team and the city is real. The players didn’t just play for each other; they played for Chicago.
And that matters. Because when a team and a city are in sync, special things can happen.
No Complacency Allowed
The message from Johnson is clear: last year was fun, but it’s over. The standard has been raised, and being “good enough” won’t cut it anymore. This isn’t about building off a nice season - it’s about building a culture that expects more, demands more, and works for more.
As long as Johnson’s at the helm, complacency won’t be part of the equation. He’s not chasing headlines or moral victories. He’s chasing something bigger - sustained success, built the hard way.
And if this past season was any indication, Chicago might finally have the right man leading them there.