Ben Johnson on building a sustained winner | Bears Weekly

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Well.

A new chapter in Bears football now includes one of the premier coaches in the National Football League, the thirty eight year old Ben Johnson, leaving Detroit for Chicago, and his introduction yesterday at Habisau created what best can be described as a significant buzz throughout Bears Nation, fans, players, everyone in the building at Habisaw and excitement rained supreme.

Good Evening one and all Good Evening Top. There. I bathing in the the.

Sunshine of a Ben Johnson hire right now, because everybody is.

There's a couple of things.

You know.

Ben Johnson has been the most talked about head coaching candidate over the last two years, and so to see the Bears set their sights on Ben Johnson, get him in on the zoom interview, bring him into the building, and get him signed to a contract, it's exciting. It's excitement in the building. You could hear it with the questions asked and answered. But I'm a man of the people, and so when I'm out at the grocery store.

Today, I had to allow my time extra time in.

The building because I was stopped in every one of the areas of the bakery, of the butcher, and in the vegetable department talking to all the guys about the new hiring. And it's some sincere about that these guys were as excited about the hiring of Ben Johnson on the outskirts of Hallas Hall as there was that you saw in Hallis Hall.

Oh yeah, I'm particularly interested in the butcher because he's been he's been on fire off season long.

What's his name? By the way, do you know I don't. We gotta get him on the podcast.

I know me Gene.

I know he's in the vegetables, But my butcher is a guy that I have to allow him the most time and when I'm going through the grocery store.

But it was exciting to talk about.

You could feel their excitement and like I said, from all the coaching candidates to in hallis hall to now it's reality.

Let's let's go, let's go.

Well, we're gonna hear from Ben Johnson from an interview I did with him for the Bears platforms. We'll also hear from Caleb Williams Todite, and we'll also hear from Kevin Warren from his interviews with the media yesterday. Jim Miller also joining us, and he interviewed along with his crew at Serious Except NFL Radio. He interviewed the new head coach of the Bears, Ben Johnson, and there's a

Yeah, and yeah, John Shup and his wife, Mom Marshall, were there. She became an ordained minister. But they started out at North Carolina together. That's where really Ben Johnson crossed paths with Shoop and he was struck.

Shop was very detailed.

I brought that up, and I actually asked Ben Johnson a question about that. I said, you had to love the detail of John Shop because one thing I really appreciated about shop was past protections pass protection conscious. Every week he would go in on his off day, he'd write up all the protections, here's how we're treating it this week. And I'd go in there and I'd get a carbon copy of it, and then you, of course go out to your your blitz pickups and all that,

What's the reaction league wide? And had you interviewed him before?

Yeah, I have, I've had conversation when we go on training camp tour, much like when I visited the Bears. I ran into Ben Johnson at Lions training camp this a couple of years ago, and he came up. We had a nice conversation about our commonality with John Shoop, and you know just where he wanted his career to go. And so I think he congratulate the Chicago Bears. I got the top coordinator out there. I think a lot of people are pretty excited about Joe Bate Brady too

Yeah, I mean that's one of the first things that came out of his mouth. Sitting down with me as well as with the media yesterday. You could tell he's a fiery competitor and everybody. There's all sorts of adjectives that you in your canvassing of people around the league that have either coached with him or against him, or people who know him, and they're all coming back with a similar uh tapestry.

So to speak about what he is.

And and that is no nonsense, very very detailed focused.

Obviously, he's got.

A very very very good football mind for the ex's and o's part of it, but he also Tom and Jim. He's got a fiery temperament on game day that allows him to uh to be to take some chances and and and and put things out there that maybe other coordinators not. And I should also mention today named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.

Tommy, that's nice to see, you know, because you think about when they brought Jared golf along, there was kind of an uncertainty about what how his career was going to further after they make Detroit for Matthew Stafford, and you see the numbers that he's able to put up. You see the way that he got Jamaar Gibbs involved in the running game, even though they already had David Montgomery and all the wide receivers and tight ends that he had a board. He got them all actively involved

Jim second youngest head coach in the league right now behind Mike McDonald oft. Believe it or not, you would think as long as Sean McVay has been in the league, But Sean McVay is right there behind it.

He's now he's third in the list.

But Sean mcvace still a young thirty eight years old as well, just a couple of months older than Ben Johnson.

How about that. I mean that's kind of crazy, isn't it.

Yeah, Well, I mean, you know, he's got the energy. I know everybody's said, you know, we got guys out there like Pete Carroll or seventy three that have a ton of energy. But I think a lot of teams want the young and upcoming coaches that have that energy that you know, deal with the modern day player and how these guys are being you know, really being developed for what you want him to be, and that's to have a winning organization. So you know, again, let's see

All right, let's applaud the process, okay, because there were some detractors of the idea of broad scope journey towards trying to find the head coach. So a lot of interviews, but that's information gathering within the framework of the rules that are set forth by the NFL and how and when to interview people that are involved in the playoffs and such. I found nothing wrong with that. It didn't

To win and win now.

So he's not shy about something that I don't want him to be shy about that when you think of the interviews from Pete Carroll to Eddie, George and everybody in between, and then they were able to get, like I said, the most coveted head coach in Canada over the last two seasons.

In Ben Johnson.

I think he Ben Johnson had to be impressed by Ryan Poles as much as Ryan Poles had to be impressed by Ben Johnson. And you like to have that mutual relationship developed from the infancy stages because there is an admiration of the preparedness of each of these guys. And you know, Ryan probably learned something about his questioning process through some of the other candidates that he went through, or answers that maybe alerted him to something that he

That's from the heart. There's no script, right, he's speaking, and I love that. I think the best community in the world, whether it be at a church or a public event or public speakers, you know that knowledge is power and you speak from the heart.

Jim.

The other thing is, as George McCaskey indicated more than once I ran into him at the Halsall prior to the news conference earlier this week, he said he asked for the job. I want the job, and he reminded him, if I didn't tell you I want the job, I'm telling you again. And oftentimes I don't think people, you know, when they interview it could be any walk, they don't they don't finish by asking the job. Asking for the job, you got to finish. He asked for the job right

Oh.

I agree with that, Jeff, because everybody just thinks, oh, well, here's your contract. We'd like you to be in the next head coach. No, I want this job. Know that you know it's it's equal to this as mutual. You know that this is something that I want to challenge. And I do think there's something to it, and we you know, I go back for previous players. There's something to be said about building something when you turn it around. I know we've talked about other players that have come

And I think and Tom can speak to this. Jim, you can speak to this Tom more so because he won that Lombardi Trophy with that eighty five Bears team. You win here, it's not like any place else when you win. We'll dive into that when we come back. This is Bears Weekly on THEESBN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network. Here's your host, the Voice of the Bears, Jeff Joni.

This segment of Bears Weekly, brought to you by IGS Energy, Jeff Joni Ac tomp There and Jim Miller, former Bears quarterback from Serious x MNFL Radio, as we dig into the hiring of Ben Johnson. Now for a staff is underway up at hallis all. They'll be very active in that for the rest of this week and possibly beyond as they head towards what will be the scouting circuit and the senior ball coming up here about a week from now. So a lot to do and a lot

Hear, Yeah, just really you know, his start in offense, what he believes in. Certainly, I know we talked about the running game, and as Tom has mentioned, you look at that offensive lineup there in Detroit pretty darn good. So I think they're gonna, you know, trying to overhaul that. That's the best way to help out a young quarterback,

Tom.

One of the great things that he is starting from scratch on the offense, this is going to be an offense tailored around Caleb Williams.

Yeah.

You know, when we looked at the analytics of Detroit offenses past year, we talked about the effectiveness of the play action passing game with a guy like Jared Goff. But I think when you incorporate the athleticism of a guy like Caleb Williams, is it more rpo play action or is it more legitimate play action from behind center? And I'm interested to see how he sees the difference in the talent of you know, the experience in the history in the league with Jared Goff in the infancy

Well, yesterday I had a chance to visit with Ben Johnson before his news conference with the media, the introductory news conference as the eighteenth head coach nineteenth overall with the interim tag for Ben for what we had last season that was nineteen, but Ben Johnson with the sit Down, A portion of the interview from our bears et Cent podcast would drop today wherever you get your podcast.

Every step of my journey, whether it was quality control, position, coach, offensive coordinator, I morphed into a world that would make me the best at that particular job, and every step along the way tight ends coach. Oh see, the last few years, it's whatever that job required. And so this new job is a completely different skill set and responsibility, and so I will find exactly what it takes to excel in this new role.

How excited are you to work with Ryan Poles, his staff, Kevin Warren, mccaskey's everybody.

In the Bild Listen. They blew me away on the interview. I spent time just alone with Ryan on that interview and then in a group setting with all of them, and it's clear their commitment to build a sustained winner here in Chicago. I think Ryan's done a phenomenal job already accumulating town here in this building. And I can't be more excited about George and Kevin and the support that they're willing to give us and the resources they're willing to give us to get this thing going.

The familiarity you touched on it within the division?

Is that a positive?

Because you faced everybody before for the last many years.

There's no doubt, And once again I have tremendous amounts of respect for all the coaches and players already in this division. But really, as a competitor, I didn't want to leave.

As a young kid growing up Asheville, North Carolina, that's right. Could you have imagined this day?

No?

No, absolutely not, absolutely not. Like like I said, I grew up watching WGN Chicago Cubs with my little brother and to see that one day I would land in that city as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, it just gives me goosebumps.

What's your message to the fans?

Message to the fans is, we are completely committed to building a sustained winner here. We are going to have high standards, but we're also going to have high level of support for these players. The bar is gonna be every time they step into the building so high, because that's the only way we're gonna push. We're gonna challenge these players to become the best versions of themselves along the way, though, we're going to provide them the necessary resources to hit those goals.

Congratulations, thank you in best of luck, Yeah, thank you.

Jeff Well, you know that that Cubs angle is significant as it turns out, And if you have a chance, check out Chicago Bears dot com. Read an article by outstanding writer Gabby Hiduke. She penned a piece with Johnson and his younger brother Avid Cub fans yes watching the

So he and the family yearly trip.

To Chicago for a Cup series Throughout the past decade or so, there's photos that you'll see of coach Johnson and his wife Jessica with Cub shirts on. I keep saying, guys, it was meant to be, so Chicago stirred his soul. And if you're sitting and I think oftentimes they were sitting in the bleachers, so you get a true sense of what the Chicago sports fan, what I truly believe is the great and not just saying it it's the

It's unique. I love it.

I mean, there are other great sports towns, but nothing like this. And now he lands here and with the team in Chicago where everybody is a Bears fan.

Well, you know that for Jim and Jeff and I all of us, we've been blessed to go to different stadiums as players and broadcasters, and sometimes the anticipation of being in the stadium is the walk to the stadium, and you get to see the energy that the fans are showing on the streets, the leading up, waiting in line to the stadiums and stuff. And you know, you got to imagine him as a younger person waiting in line at Wrigley Field or walking through the streets of Chicago.

Was it that did he go to the opener? I want to know that, Jeff, you can get a little chilly in the opener.

Well, tell you Jim right now, he won't be able to go there anonymously a more, not a chance.

I mean, it's a great story, Jimmy great story.

It is.

And you know, I think when you're not from Chicago, like me coming from Detroit and when the Bears sign me there is I think when you when you arrive there and you participate in iconic things like going to Kubby Stadium and all that, and you see all the fan fair and I've said it all the time about the Chicago Bears. Even I remember when I signed and all the Bowls championships, but yet when I turned on the radio, it was all Bears talk.

And I go to the local mall and.

There's a Bear's hat somebody's wearing, and a Bear's jacket and Bears shoes and you name it. And it's just in your face every single day of hot what a great sports town it is. And it's but it is Bears, but you've got all these other great sports as well. And it was just very welcoming, is very inviting, is very intoxicated, and probably why the Johnson family wanted to go down there, because it you know, you enjoy it. I mean, it's something fun to do, and it's a city that will attract you.

Yeah.

And I will say this also, it's a city that wants to embrace its stars and its coaches. And you know you can you can feel it when things are going well, you feel it when things are not going well. It's a two way street. You know what you're getting when you come to Chicago. It's an enormous market for you know, what other word can you use other than pressure?

Right? Tom?

And you felt it as a player, right, You had a lot of success, but you know when it didn't finish in a super Bowl with such a great team. After you won the Super Bowl, how did you handle that? And what advice would you give to a head coach or a player coming to the Bears organization in this city. Both of you guys can weigh in on, especially Jim as a quarterback and you as an eighty five Bear, Well.

No one thing.

I don't think that Ben Johnson needs advice because he's been in the division and.

He's seen the highs and the lows.

He's seen you know, the arrow pointing out for Detroit and where it was when he started and where it was when he finished. He's been to lambeau Field, He's been to Minnesota Stadium, he's been to Soldier Field. So he knows the passion inside every building inside this division. And sometimes when you bring in coaches from a distance, they have to learn that. I think he already knows that,

Yeah, he's I mean, think about how far ahead he is. He knows how to game plan Minnesota. He knows how to game plan the Packers. That's why he gave that that little you know, jab At coach Lafort And he knows how to call plays against the Lives. He called him every single day in training camp. So he knows the personnel. He knows what this division is all about. Uh, he knows the players, he knows the coaches. So it

You know what's interesting about that?

There were some writers nationally and and maybe even locally about Ben Johnson.

Oh, you know, maybe he won't want to coach in the division.

I didn't think. I mean why, I think at the point totals, look at the point total.

Wait.

But as a competitor like that sticks out to me like he is taking it head on.

Well, yeah, I think that's that's great because he knows the division. But all I'm saying is to last, you know, to last. Look at say divisions like the NFC South that they've got, that division has gone from worse to first. Every single team's done it, you know. So a lot of people are thinking that about the AFC South, the Colts, the Tennessee and look at Jacksonville Houston obviously we know

I just love the competitiveness I do. I think, don't you think, as players, don't you appreciate that?

Yeah?

Well, you know, I look at some of the pieces.

You know, when you look at Ben Johnson coming from Detroit, they have a thirty six year old quarterback.

You still have Orton Love in.

Green Bay, and you have uncertainty in Minnesota, and then you have a big sample size to look at what's offered to you in Caleb Williams, So I think rather than moving to a different division, if you're talking about points being scored, he was a leading He was the leader of one of the leading scoring offenses in the league. So he has to believe that he can take what he offers a team and it can transcend to Chicago as well as it developed in Detroit, YEP.

Over each of the last three seasons, coordinating Detroit's offense top five in total offense each season. Number two and twenty four had a four thousand yard quarterback in each season, and of course that's been an elusive goal for the Bears in the passing department, and the last two seasons, no unit has averaged more points per game thirty point one or netyards per game four to two point two. Different skills understand, a different team understood. But I'm certainly

Is Bears Weekly with the Voice of the Bears for twenty four years, Chef Jney at.

Chef on the Bears Radio Network, Tamnu or gently used coat land around We'll head of your local chewelasco until February tenth and donate one of your new or gently used coach to the thirty sixth annual Chicago Bears Coach Drive and help keep Chicagoan's warm this winter. Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller from Serious XMNFL Radio here on Bears Weekly. Opportunity to visit with Caleb Williams, one of the four teammates that arrived at hallis haf to be there for Ben Johnson, Cole Comet romadoon z a DJ

I have friends over there at Detroit Amorah, and you know a couple other guys, and you know, we we obviously get to see what he does and what he you know, how he calls things and how he has the offense running and and and moving and things like that, and playing in this in this sport, you do understand that teams don't function that way. Offenses don't function that way without a guy, you know, like like Ben and so you know, and and what I mean by that is,

And all these different things.

And I think he'll bring that and and so that brings a bunch of excitement and not just talking about on the football field, but been able to you know, turn this thing around.

And and he.

Hasn't been a part of a team at least the past six years where they were obviously Detroit. These past couple of years have been booming and they've been doing their thing over there, and you know, to to you know, to his first time actually being there, they actually weren't that you know that good. So being able to build it, being able to grow, uh him being able to see it and watch it and understand uh what it takes is, you know, is also where the excitement comes from.

You are not very subtled about your interest in playing for Ben wall On that that podcast that you have mentioned with the Saint Brown's what so what makes him stand.

Out to him?

Yeah?

Obviously as a as a QB, been able to watch somebody, somebody like Jared Golf go out there and execute and and and play out of this world, you know that that brings excitement to to myself because I want to be able to go out there and uh light the world on fire. And you know, I think I think

How do you think you and Ben will mesh schematically? What about person.

Yeah, personally, we've we've met, we've talked on the phone. Now I think he kind of fits me. He has he's he's got a.

Fire to him.

He has, uh, you know, like you said before we got on this, he's he's a competitor and uh. Being able to have that that that same kind of juice and and competitiveness is exciting. And I think we'll mesh well, you know, I think he's gonna bring the coach part to it and hold me accountable because that's what needed, that's what's needed, you know, from from us too. And and he told me, uh, he told me to do the same, is be accountable to him and and and

Ryan Poles also we'll hear from him as well, but alluded to the fact that, yeah, the challenge Caleb will be challenging, do the little things the right way. They got to get the foundation down, figure it out. They're gonna spend a ton of time together Tom and Jim. Let's let's start with Tommy about your reactions on on what he had to say there and and how this thing is gonna grow because to me, at at a bare minimum, stability now is what he needs more than anything.

I'm glad it's not a phone call field of unrealistic promises. I'm glad it's an introduction, introductory phone call where they get to know a little bit about each other and Caleb, you know, kind of talks about what he wants and Ben Johnson talks about what he needs and if both of those guys meet in the middle, I think Caleb is capable of some remarkable quarterback play in the NFL,

Point where everybody's using it.

And if that comes to fruition that everybody is accountable for their own position through the learning process to what Ben Johnson expects out of him. Then, like Ben Johnson said, we want to win now, and I think Caleb is capable of that. And I think Ben Johnson is the type of guy that he has the accountability from the players that he needs the most.

That is all possible, and I just think for Caleb, but obviously this is important. This relationship has to be right with you know, look what just happened this past year when you're firing an offense coordinator after nine weeks, so it's time to get to work. You know, there's no doubt about it. There's like no time to waste for the offseason. The OTAs the meeting, time, the install the attention to detail and as time would say, Tom would say, and Tom knows it's assignment and alignment. Know

How about fundamentals and technique? It sounds like they're going to start from scratch.

And they should. You know, whether you know, if he wants things to be read, whether it's short to deep or deep to short. You know, there's nuances with every pass play where maybe, yeah, this is how we're going to read it, but this look, here's a different variation how we're going to attack this coverage. And so that attention to detail, and you know, you got to go keep on going over these things because it's not just the quarterback. Everybody else has to has to learn it too,

Listen, man, fundamental and technique is something that's gonna be taught and brought to practice every single day, no matter how long you guys are around, you're in the same system. And again, the group of offensive linemen that I played with for seven years, every single first practice, Dick Stanfeld started with the huddle, to your stance, to your balance, to your footwork. So that's something that's never gonna go away, and they're always going to try to improve that about every player.

You know, playbooks are huge these days. I don't know how complicated and deep that playbook is. For Ben Johnson, I certainly know he's creative. He's he's a guy that's got a great mind to come up with plays and so forth. But in terms of style, if you had to guess, Jim, what will the Bear style look like based on what you've learned about Caleb, about Rome, about DJ about Cole, about DeAndre Swift And while you'll get up front.

Yeah, I think they've got the horses to do well, but you need some guys in the trenches.

You know.

Teams look at it differently. You look at say, look at San Francisco. They pay their skilled position players, receivers. They're gonna pay Purdy, they paid McCaffrey, they paid Au, they paid Deebo Samuel. The only old lineman that's getting paid is Trent Williams. So it's the guys with the ball in their hands where they want their focus on.

Now.

Teams like Detroit Philly they have great offensive lines, right, they believe in all those and then Detroit is drafted all those others, the Gibbs of the world, the Jamison Williams of the world, where they can now develop those young players that have explosive ability. So it's just on how you look at it. But I would think the Bears need to get those assets into the offensive line.

You know, Jim, Jeff, Jim and I are old enough in our career that we actually carried a playbook. And when you talk about a binder, a playbook and it's four or five hundred pages deep, and you would get in the meetings and you're installing different information or a training camp and they say, okay, go to page three hundred and sixty five, we're going to install strong right

But right now, this is what you bring.

It is a different style of football from tablet gosh.

I wonder if Jim's been almost every training camp. I wonder if any coach does that now or is it just all tablets.

They'll have certain handouts and things like that that they're gonna throw up on a on an overhead that they'll just have handy that maybe they'll distribute to add But yeah, I mean, I'm all for it. I liked having that playbook. I like to see it in front of me, right there. To me, it wasn't inconvenient at all, and it just shows you everything. Not that you can't do it on an iPad. But like Tom said, kind of just more old school. I've got every playbook that I've ever had state,

I've got it.

I've got Wow, it's in my closet.

Wow, look at you. I'm calling you the professor.

Once they handed you that playbook at training camp. When you have the luxury of being gifted a playbook, you never let it out of your sight.

You ever forgot it. You never you knew where it was at all times.

It was something that you basically had a guard as much as your bank book or passport.

That's how you have any to you? Yes, do you have any? You do?

Yes, I'm coming over. I want to read through those. Hey, oh, Jim, I forgot. This is not meant how many teams you play for. So you got all those playbooks.

Yeah, I've got New England's, I've got Tampa's, I've got two of John Gruden's, I've got Jacksonville's, I've got the Giants, I've got the Bears, obviously got Detroit, got New England.

So yeah, you can crack me up.

All right, Well, it's a wing of a house right there for Jim Miller. All right, we're gonna take a break.

We come back.

We'll hear from Kevin Warren, the Bears President and CEO. Here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly, the Bears Wingdio Network. Here's your host, the voice of the Bears show.

This segment of Bears Weekly he brought to you by people to get it, Jeff, Jonny k, Tim there and Jim Miller from Serrious XM NFL Radio joining us todight as we break down the hiring of Ben Johnson.

Bears President and CEO.

Kevin Warrent always optimistic and forward thinking on how this process worked.

It was a perfect process. I mean I enjoyed it. I think Ryan was very clear when we started this journey that wide net would be cast, which it was. We would talk to many candidates, and one thing about this interview process. You learned so much not only about the candidate, but about other coaches, their thought process, other people you know, in the industry. And so I thought it was a first class process and Ryan should be commended. And I'm grateful to George and the entire McCaskey family

Now that wasn't the answer to one question.

That was a long interview, but I took some of the highlights out for purposes of our time constraints here on the show. But it just he feels, I believe very strongly about that. I just the buildings empowered and they feel that they are better than what they showed. They just got to they got to just hit some key points here to finish and learn how to win. And I'll say this, I just saw this a moment ago.

I find it as amazing in modern day football, going from quality control to the head coach of the Chicago Bears in a short amount of time after you got fired.

From another NFL team.

And one thing about.

Kevin, He's got a lot of examples of experience throughout his football career, both in the college level and in the NFL. He's been in the division more than one So you had a lot of minds that were working together to come to the conclusion that this is the best possible decision they can make.

They made the decision. Now it's about looking forward and winning.

Yeah, I totally agree with that. It's about looking forward winning. How quickly can you get installed? Like you said, how quickly did iberflus get the hit system up and running? But like you said, the offense was still lagging. So that same type of priority detail, like I said, assignment alignment, that has to be done very seriously, and the player's got to be very dedicated to what you know the

One of the funny stories.

It's on Fox and Cassie Carlson did a story this because Kevin Warren brought it up at dinner last week in Lincoln Park. He was there with his wife Greta, and somebody sent him a note, please hire Ben Johnson and they found the people. So it's a great fun story. That is, you know, just Chicago style, right to the core. So that was a pretty cool story and check that out. Casting did a nice job with that, and these two folks are getting a lot of attention because of it.

So a good story.

Indeed, Hey, like I said, come to the grocery store with me and you'll meet the same type of people that are wishing for the success of the Bears. And they go there every day and that's what they want as well.

That's pure Chicago right there to the core. All right when we come back.

Our final segment, we'll here from Ryan Pouls here on Bears Weekly and ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network. Here's your host, the Voice of the Bears, Jeff Junia.

This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletical dot com the request at in clinic or virtual the appointment.

It's start feeling better tomorrow.

Our final segment, General Manager Ryan Poles, and this is from Bear's chairman George McCaskey said, Hey, go get him. I loved the process, thought it was a great process and a great result. Here's Ryan on some of the high points of finding out about Ben Johnson, another Boston College coach, a grad assistant back of the day.

It's kind of crazy.

There's a lot of crossover with people that were really close to Actually even found out that he actually worked in the small little cubicle that I did when I was at Boston College just a year after, which is crazy to think about. But yeah, a lot of a lot of our friends, a lot of people that we trust, connect both of us and then when we got on the call and spent time with it with each other, there's.

Just a vibe to it that was awesome, right, and you were passing a wide net.

But was was Ben always kind of a top candidate for you?

Yeah, someone that I admired obviously, Like I said, we did a lot of research.

There's Matt Feinstein in.

Our group, put some data together that he's done some things that are like special in terms of getting the offense to operate at at a high, high level, and that stood out.

So he was always, you know, the top candidate. But you never know.

It's like the draft, you know, you never know.

How it's gonna fall. Uh, So you have to be prepared.

And that's the reason why we did what we did on the Zoom call with Ben. What were the things that you heard from him that that really sold you that your belief in him was.

Was just like yeah, just a clear vision in terms of how to put a winning football team together. Really hit on a lot of the accountability, discipline, how we're gonna work to get to where we need to get to. Some of the things that I think, I know we fell short on this past year. I'm confident he's going to address those things pretty quickly. And then when you add you know, the draft capital, the space that we have, you know, the cap, we can do some damage to give this team wordy.

Speaking, all right, So yes, they do. They are poised. They're poison to make some more noise. I said that last season and the off season. They're poised to make some more noise. Tom and Jim.

Yeah, you know the one thing about it, I bet you there's a lot of questions that Ryan knew that he already knew the answer to before he ever asked it, and he just got the He just reconfirmed that it's the right decision in his head throughout the process of the interview.

Yeah, I think, you know what, it's got to be all encompassing. I think they see the growth of a young coach and I think you kind of alluded to it, Jeff, is where can it grow to? You know, it's all got to start somewhere, and he's worked his way to this point and now has this this opportunity and look at how Dan Campbell has grown. Think about when Dan Campbell took over play calling before Ben Johnson, before he elected to put Ben Johnson as the OC. Dan Campbell

Well.

Congratulations to Ryan, to George, to Kevin Warren, Jeff King from Football Operations, Ted Cruz, the Special Advisor to the President and CEO and Chief Administrative Officer Matt Feinstein, and also Liz Geist on that committee that helped get the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. That's going to wrap us up for tonight's show special. Thanks to our producers and all of you for listening tonight for Tom Fair.