For all their offseason moves this year, the Chicago Bears’ biggest addition is head coach Ben Johnson and the highly-regarded staff he’s built around him.
With the team kicking off rookie minicamp on Friday, not only were eyes on the rookie class that the team has brought in (both with their draft selections and signed undrafted free agents) but also their coaching staff, which apparently has stood out.
Chicago’s disastrous 2024 season was headlined by coaching incompetence, which would lead to several changes throughout the year including head coach Matt Eberflus being fired following a Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. Eberflus’ firing was the first time in franchise history that the team fired a coach during the season, and they quickly moved to hiring Ben Johnson this offseason, making the big splash in the coaching circle this year.
Johnson wasted little time in building an experienced staff of assistants, with a mix of veteran and young coaches filling out the staff, and they’re already making their presence known. Early observations from Friday’s rookie minicamp practice noted that the tone from this coaching staff was much different, including running backs coach Eric Bieniemy who was very vocal.
“One of the takeaways from today’s practice was Bears RBs coach Eric Bieniemy,” wrote Nicholas Moreano. “He has an edge to him when he coaches and demands the details are exact. Saw him get after RB Christian Grubb for walking after a drill. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an uptick from the entire RB group just because of Bieniemy.”
Zack Pearson seconded it: “I’ll add to this. It’s one practice but already this has the feel of a much more vocal and loud coaching staff in a good way for the Bears…There wasn’t much in terms of on field team drills. But coaches are very vocal in drills. Stood out right away.”
More observations from reporters on sight pointed out that while it was mainly drills taking place on Friday, the coaching staff was much more vocal than the last, and the tone around the team feels different.
“We call it rookie orientation. … It’s a coach orientation for us this year, too,” Johnson said. “It’s our first time as a coaching staff to really have a practice format like that. It was fun to see them get after it and get to work a little bit. We’ve got a long ways to go, but [I’m] really happy with how the guys went out there and competed and learned … and look forward to seeing the progression there over the course of the weekend.”
Johnson has done a good job early to come in and try to change the culture around this team and locker room, and that’s being shown by his assistants on the first day of minicamp, which should increase optimism for the 2025 season.
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