Ben Johnson praises Lions players, organization in first press conference with Bears

Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson officially joined the division rival Chicago Bears on Tuesday, and the team introduced him as their new head coach in a news conference on Wednesday .

“I would be remiss not to acknowledge a number of people that have helped me along the way here, starting with where I just came from,” Johnson said to start his speech, thanking Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, head coach Dan Campbell, and other members of the organization.

“[Campbell] is more than just a colleague to me,” he said. “He is a friend, he is a mentor, he is a man that trusted me when he didn’t need to and I will forever be in his debt and respect the heck out of him. He’s an amazing person.”

Johnson came to Detroit in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach after working with Campbell with the Miami Dolphins a few years prior. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022.

Johnson said one of the hardest things to do is leave a group that you love, and that he’d forever be impacted by players like Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Frank Ragnow.

“One of the reasons you get into coaching is to make the people around you better, but the truth is, those group of guys, they made me a better coach and a better person,” Johnson said.

The Bears are bringing Johnson in as their fifth head coach in the last decade. They fired former coach Matt Eberflus in late November and went on to finish their season with a 5-12 record.

“For the [Bears] players, get comfortable being uncomfortable,” Johnson said Wednesday, echoing a similar sentiment to that of Dan Campbell in the midst of turning the Lions around.

He said he’s excited to work with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and that he’ll build an offense from scratch rather than usher in the playbook he used in Detroit.

To this point, the Bears haven’t announced any coach poaching from other members of the Lions’ offensive staff.

The Lions have yet to announce a replacement for Johnson  as offensive coordinator.