Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s meticulous approach is already the stuff of legend.
And yet, the impact that he has had on those who have encountered him does not often get the same level of recognition as the creative and, more importantly, explosive plays that he dials up for his offenses do.
The second-year head coach refined his skill set over the years. He was most recently with the Detroit Lions. One of his former quarterbacks offered strong words about their time together.
Commanders OC David Blough Gets Honest About Bears HC Ben Johnson
Johnson spent six years with the Lions in various roles before the Bears hired him during the 2025 offseason. In his first season up North, Johnson encountered David Blough. Blough was an undrafted rookie QB whom the Lions acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Blough is now the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.
They last worked together in 2021. Still, Blough spoke candidly about what he picked up from Johnson several years ago. It has stuck with him to this day.
“Ben got there at the end of training camp, and every–this was not his job, right? We had a quarterback coach. This was not his job, but every Saturday night, he took me through the entire game plan from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3, all the way up until I got the opportunity … on Thanksgiving, Week 13,” Blough told Ari Meirov on “NFL Spotlight” on July 14.
“He helped me learn what an NFL offense truly was, while he was also putting in the 100-, 110-hour weeks to make sure that we had everything we needed. And I tell people this all the time: he was behind the scenes of that 2019 season, but he was one of the main reasons I was able to go out and execute as a quarterback. So, it showed me, right, … you can’t hide from the work that it takes to go into it. And in the hours that you think that may never come to light, oftentimes they do.”
That game was a 24-20 Bears win.
Blough finished with 280 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 57.8% completion. Blough said he and Johnson initially connected over a mutual former coach, former Bears OC John Shoop. Shoop coached the Commanders’ OC at Purdue in 2015 and the Bears’ HC at North Carolina in 2007. It was by happenstance still.
Johnson noticed the tag on Blough’s bag and made the connection.
Blough, who was in his first day with the Lions at the time he met Johnson, said that he is “proud of Ben and his growth and his journey” so far.
Ben Johnson’s Impact Showed at Every Level
Johnson arrived in Detroit having already been an assistant position coach for the Miami Dolphins. He worked with wide receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks there. In Detroit, the now-Bears head coach went from quality control to tight ends to OC.
He brought the same intensity to the process every step of the way.
“To see him go from that role to the tight ends coach when T.J. Hockenson is a Pro Bowler in 2020 in his second year, and you know rolling in ‘21, and then helping Dan [Campbell] get that thing turned around at the end of the ‘21 season, and then all the success that he’s had in ‘22 and ‘23 and ‘24 with the expectations. I think that the word to use, ‘detailed,’ right, if I were to highlight and say Dan Quinn is the most intentional coach I’ve ever been around, Ben Johnson’s the most detailed,” Blough said.
“There’s a reason that his offenses look the way they do whenever you turn the tape on. And that’s what I’m trying to impart on our guys, and hold them to a standard that is uncomfortable sometimes, but just challenge them to grow in that area. So, I am incredibly thankful that our paths crossed and not surprised at all at the success that he’s having, and just proud of him.”
Johnson helped the Bears snap their playoff drought and course-corrected former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in his first season at the helm in Chicago.
If history serves, the Bears could reach even greater heights in 2026.
