The One Thing That Bears' Ben Johnson Doesn't Want to Hear Anymore

After a historic season that saw the Chicago Bears win the NFC North for the first time since 2018 and pull off a triumphant Wild Card victory over the Green Bay Packers, head coach Ben Johnson became arguably the city's biggest celebrity. He's appeared at multiple Chicago Blackhawks games, and he even went viral on social media for pretending to rip his shirt off at a Chicago Bulls game, an homage to Week 13 of last season, when his hilarious postgame antic got Bears fans free hot dogs.

Speaking of last season, Johnson would appreciate it if everyone stopped talking about it. Despite all the success that came in his debut season as head coach of the Chicago Bears, he's already put it behind him and is focused on 2026. At the NFL league meetings in Phoenix, he was quoted as saying, "It's been a long offseason in terms of you go downtown or you go somewhere, and everyone's patting you on the back and telling you what a great, great job you did. You don't want to hear it. You don't want to hear it anymore."

If you see Bears coach Ben Johnson around town in Chicago, it's time to stop telling him how great the 2025 season was. It's time to move on. He's on to 2026.

And he's got work to do.

His message from the NFL annual meeting in Phoenix: pic.twitter.com/vr9Kw0E76l
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) March 30, 2026

Johnson went on to say, "It was great for the first week but now our sights are turned. And we got a monumental task at hand, because this division only got better so far this offseason, and we still have the draft to come."

Johnson is right about that. The Minnesota Vikings signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a one-year, "prove-it" deal, and I do not doubt that he'll remind everyone why he was a No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. The Packers will be getting two of their best players, Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons, back from injuries, and the Lions are reloading a roster that was one game away from the Super Bowl two years ago.

Ben Johnson won't be resting on his laurels

While Bears fans will happily recount the success of last season, especially when hoping to stick it to Packers fans, Johnson will brook no such talk from his players. He emphasized that his coaches will be "hyper vigilant" in identifying and stamping out any sense of complacency or entitlement at Halas Hall.

Bears HC Ben Johnson says coaches will be "hyper vigilant" to complacency and entitlement after the success in 2025. 👀

Ben said he doesn't want to hear about how good the Bears were in 2025 as they have moved on to 2026. Chasing Greatness. 🐻⬇️

via @CourtneyRCronin pic.twitter.com/5pjCT99U3h
— Bearsszn (@bearszn) March 30, 2026

In the United States Marine Corps, a popular saying among infantrymen is 'complacency kills'. A simple yet deadly accurate statement, and I would advise Ben Johnson to have those two words plastered all over the locker room. A complacent team loses its fire fast, and if I were a betting man, I'd wager that Johnson saw complacency crop up in Detroit's locker room following their trip to the NFC Championship game and wants to nip that in the bud.

The Bears still need that fire that propelled them to an NFC North championship last year. The players may feel pretty good about themselves, but they still have a long way to go. Remember, the standard set by team president Kevin Warren is world championships, not division banners. They can't afford to rest on their laurels because the ultimate prize has once again eluded them.

The Bottom Line

The Bears had a terrific 2025 season, but they didn't get far enough. To be brutally honest, they choked in the Divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams. They could have (and should have) won that game, which would have punched their ticket to the NFC Championship. From there, anything would have been possible, and the Bears could very well be the reigning Super Bowl champions right now.

But they're not; they failed, and Ben Johnson knows that he's not guaranteed to get a second chance. As Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell somewhat presciently said after his team's NFC Championship loss, a team that Ben Johnson was part of, "This may have been our only shot." That was two years ago, and the Lions haven't won a playoff game since. Johnson is determined not to go down that same road, so he's putting up the necessary guardrails.

Ben Johnson won't be resting on his laurels

The Bottom Line

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter