Passionate madness to Ben Johnson's methods making Chicago Bears popular again

Ben Johnson's "good, better, best!" mantra has America suddenly rooting for the Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The stern demands and lofty goals for Caleb Williams in training camp. The cardiac comebacks. The free hot dogs. The celebrations, both shirtless and falling on his back. The dismissive handshakes with a hated rival. The first playoff win in 15 years. The NFC's Divisional Round.

But the most enduring image from Ben Johnson's first year as head coach of the Chicago Bears may be his passionately crazed locker-room speeches that all end in a familiar mantra that is framing the team's playoff run.

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Good, better, best!

Never let it rest!

Till your good gets better!

And your better gets best!!

Bears on 3 ... 1, 2, 3, BEARS!

never let it rest https://t.co/aUp0rgdmxW pic.twitter.com/zzUFFFlaDe

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2026

Turns out there's a madness behind Johnson's methods.

Johnson's transformation of the Bears goes beyond a 5-12 team becoming an 11-5 NFC North division champion who on Sunday night hosts the Los Angeles Rams at frigid Soldier Field for a berth in the conference championship game. He's made the long-moribund Bears relevant, trendy and likeable. Unless, that is, you're Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers.

He came to Halas Hall with a reputation for being the most innovative offensive mind in the NFL. He was a football savant who probed at defense's weaknesses and invented mind-boggling trick plays. But the real Johnson we've gotten to know is, well, a madman. He's as much heart and soul as X's and O's.

He borrowed the Bears' post-game chant - one that even the NFL's official social media accounts are hopping aboard - from his days playing quarterback at A.C. Reynolds High School in North Carolina.

MORE: Was Caleb Williams 4th-down throw to help beat Packers the best pass in Bears' history?

"I remember being in that locker room, and that was just the rallying cry at that time," Johnson told ESPN. "And I think there's something to be said when a group of men, they're all believing the same thing, they're saying the same thing. It's one heartbeat, one voice, and I think our guys have enjoyed it."

If we see another clip of the chant Sunday night, we'll know the Bears are in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2011.

Ben Johnson | David Banks-Imagn Images

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