What a difference a year makes.
When the Chicago Bears were searching for their next head coach in January 2025, the biggest concern about Ben Johnson as a head coaching candidate was this weird notion that, because he was an offensive guru, he would somehow be a less capable leader. It was the whole “leader of men” discourse, and it was silly then, and even sillier now that year one of the Ben Johnson era is in the books.
No doubt, Johnson proved he was every bit the offensive innovator he was pegged as for multiple coaching cycles. But he’s also been the leader of men many doubted he would be, and the latest fan survey over at The Athletic speaks to it, with a whopping 63.8 percent of voters calling the way the players responded to Johnson the most impressive thing about his first season in Chicago.
Graph and Poll Results Courtesy of The AthleticBen Johnson Has Been Quite the Leader of Men, After All
Before I get into my thoughts on Johnson and a couple of other things I found interesting in The Athletic’s fan survey, I strongly encourage you to head over there and read the full story yourself.
Back to business.
While I was impressed with Johnson’s playcalling prowess, and his ability to draw the next phase of Caleb Williams’ development out of him, I have to agree with the majority party in the survey: Ben Johnson’s ability to lead, and the impact and response he had and received from the locker room was the most impressive part of the first year of the head coaches tenure in Chicago.
The funny thing about the “leader of men” line is that it exists as a punchline in Chicago because it was a Marc Trestman-ism, a distant memory of a wasted era of Bears football. Johnson, however, didn’t talk about it; he executed it from day one in Chicago. He rebuilt the culture at Halas Hall, and he did it quickly enough to flip his team’s record from 5-12 in 2024 to 11-6 and NFC North champions in 2026.
That’s not by luck, and it doesn’t happen without an elite culture.
Ben Johnson walks on the field during Chicago Bears Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesCredit Where It’s Also Due …
For Ben Johnson to have the impact he’s had in the timeline he’s had, it required GM Ryan Poles to be a believer and a willing participant. He’s been both, and that’s worth a tip of the cap in my book.
Poles inherited a team devoid of talent on the roster, lacking draft capital to make widespread improvements, a nightmarish salary cap situation, and paired with a “safe” head-coaching hire to begin his tenure in Chicago.
To his credit, he has pulled the right lever more often than not, got his pick of a head coach, nailed the hire, and after weathering a storm of ugly inside and out of the building at Halas Hall for years, he gladly took a step out of the main focus, and allowed Johnson the runway to do his thing to the fullest extent, both from a culture and roster construction standpoint.
So, credit to Poles, who set the scene and then let the main characters be the main characters.
From left to right: Bears President Kevin Warren, GM Ryan Poles, Head Coach Ben Johnson, and Chairman George McCaskey pose for photos after a press conference introducing Johnson at PNC Center. | © David Banks-Imagn ImagesDespite the knock for not adding an edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat this offseason, Poles navigated the offseason pretty well, having clear goals, most of which he accomplished to an impressive extent. One of those goals was rebuilding the secondary, particularly the safety position.
According to The Athletic’s fan survey, he nailed that project with the free-agent signing of Coby Bryant (who was voted the best offseason acquisition with 78 percent of the vote) and drafting Dillon Thieneman (who was voted the rookie Bears fans were most excited about this season).
I’m not going to spoil anything else in the fan survey results, but those are two things I found interesting enough to talk about. You can check out the full story over at The Athletic.
The results are in. See how Bears fan feel about the 2026 season and the never-ending stadium saga (free to read) t.co/aU9mc55XfP
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) July 15, 2026Hence then, the article about ben johnson has been quite the leader of men after all was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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