Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren didn’t need long to be sure that Ben Johnson was the team’s first choice as head coach.
Warren said on PFT Live at the league meeting that very shortly into the Bears’ interview with Johnson, it was easy to see that he had the knowledge, passion and enthusiasm that the Bears were looking for in their next head coach.
“Within 10 minutes of the interview, within 10 minutes of the interview starting for me, if you look at my notes that I took, I knew right then,” Warren said. “Because he was so Passionate, he’s absolutely brilliant, he’s smart, he was tough, he was demanding and because I had never talked with him, you never know. And I had gone back and watched all of his media interviews and you know you’re watching a lot of candidates on the sideline, their demeanor, how they communicate with players, all of that. But in the first 10 minutes of the interview I just felt in my heart that he was the person to lead the Chicago Bears.”
Warren said he went into the interview with a good feeling about Johnson because he had spoken to players who had been coached by Johnson during his time as an assistant coach, and all of them raved about him.
“I was able to make calls to individuals he had coached at Miami, at Detroit, the different locations to really get a sense of what he’s like in the meeting rooms, his decorum, and so people say the same thing, he is absolutely brilliant, he’s a hard worker, he’s demanding, he’s tough, he keeps everyone accountable, but most of all, he’s a really good person,” Warren said. “And that’s the thing: You win in this business with good people.”
The Bears think they have a good person and a good coach who can turn them into a good team, for many years to come.
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