Why Chicago Bears new coach Ben Johnson is already thinking about the summer

The past week for the Chicago Bears organization has been an absolute whirlwind. Ben Johnson was officially hired as the 19th head coach in franchise history on Tuesday, and had his introductory press conference on Wednesday.

He addressed the players that were in attendance and the fans that bar has never been higher in Chicago. It is clear that the former Lions offensive coordinator will expect excellence every single day and he will not settle for anything less.

The big factor in Johnson coming to the Windy City is who he’ll have under center moving forward. Caleb Williams has the potential to be a franchise guy for a long time and Johnson could be the missing piece to the puzzle for this Bears offense. For Johnson, the move to Chicago will be very exciting, but he is also looking forward to settling in and preparing for an intense summer to come.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is thinking about Summer

While on 670 The Score, Johnson talked about how his season and tenure ended in Detroit. Along with that, his mindset toward the immediate future as the new man in charge for the Bears was mentioned.

“I hate how the season ended for me in Detroit, but just the excitement level I have moving forward, sleep is a thing of the past,” Johnson said. We’ll catch up on that later. We got some time this summer (to sleep).”

The Lions ended their campaign last weekend in the NFC Divisional round. Their 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders was a shock to the football world, as Detroit’s grind to getting the number one seed in the NFC appeared to be all for nothing. Johnson’s offense did their part, with the exception of a few turnovers. Detroit’s 31 points came off over 500 yards of total offense in a shootout where rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels came to play for Washington.

Johnson acknowledges that he knows there is no time to rest with his move to Chicago. The 38-year-old knows that free agency is on the horizon and the draft isn’t too far away either. The Bears have the chance to capitalize big time in both of these windows.

Ryan Poles has three draft picks in the first two rounds to work with in April, along with a decent amount of cap space to utilize in free agency. The resources are there for the front office to fill in any holes on the roster before Johnson’s first season gets underway. How they chose to attack the offseason is a whole different story.

The Chicago Bears will need to make moves prior to the summer

In order for Johnson to get the rest he needs this summer, the Bears will need to address a couple of major areas on the roster. The biggest priority sits with the offensive line. Chicago will likely need to bring in three new linemen to join Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones. Trey Smith from the Chiefs is a no-brainer free agent target to go after if he he reaches the market. While he will cost a hefty salary, his presence on the interior will be huge in protecting Williams.

In the draft, Chicago could target LSU tackle Will Campbell with the tenth overall selection in the first round. While he could move to guard in the NFL, he would still serve as a massive upgrade in pass protection just like Smith.

On the defensive side of the ball, another edge rusher is a major need for the Bears. Montez Sweat has been left out to dry since he joined the franchise in 2023, and the ability to add some help for him this offseason is apparent now more than ever. On the free agent front, Chicago could pursue the likes of Josh Sweat or Chase Young. In the draft, a dream scenario could have the Chicago Bears snagging blue-chip prospect Abdul Carter from Penn State.