Ben Johnson a beacon of hope at Halas Hall — how long will that last?

Ben Johnson's toughest job will be rising above the muck of dysfunction at Halas Hall that has consumed almost anyone of authority — just about everyone except Vic Fangio — for years.

So far, so good. Johnson came in with the wind at his back — not being Matt Eberflus — but already he seems more than just a breath of fresh air. He hasn't coached a game yet and has a lot to prove on the field as a head coach instead of just an offensive coordinator. But at this point one of his strengths is a glaring Halas Hall weakness — public relations.

Granted, press conferences for a Bears head coach before he's even coached a game are like a layup line — Matt Nagy was the most popular guy in town at this stage in 2018. But even relative to the ease of that, Johnson looks and sounds better than those who have preceded him at the lectern at Halas Hall. Including Matt Nagy.

On Thursday, when asked by my former Sun-Times colleague Pat Finley about his preferred run-pass split, Johnson articulated a common theme ("We want to be unpredictable") in a way that made him look like the actual smartest guy in the room.

"Every game is its own entity," Johnson told reporters. "That's what I learned — I saw it for a number of years when I was in Miami. The New England Patriots were at the top of the league for so long and each week you just didn't know — offense or defense, they just continued to morph and they had their opponent guessing.

"You didn't know what [Bill] Belichick was gonna pull out front-wise or coverage-wise on defense. You didn't know what [Josh] McDaniels was gonna do on offense. He might throw 50 times. He might run 50 times. Standing from afar, seeing how dominant that was, I think that's a really good tactic to have. That's something I would like to do here as well. The elements play a role. Our talent plays a role. Who we're going against plays a role. It all plays a piece in the puzzle, and that's what's fun about each game week."

At this point, there has been little B.S. in Johnson's game. Luther Burden's injury lingered longer than anticipated. He hopes he'll be back in a matter of days, but didn't promise it. He was amused that "some people enjoyed me 'throwing the first team out of practice' on Wednesday (he all but air-quoted the last part), but agreed that "it is what it is."

And he continues to tacitly acknowledge the reality that the running back situation is a question mark. Where other coaches might reflexively bristle at the notion and tell you how wrong everyone is, Johnson told no lies when asked, "What did you learn about your running backs."

"Shoot. We'll find out more once we get the pads on, but extremely coachable," Johnson said. ("Extremely coachable" is the "She has a great personality" of sports deflections). "Improvements on the tracks every single day. We're very detailed with where we want them to go. They're all about it. Coach [Eric] Bieniemy's doing a phenomenal job. He's one of the more demanding coaches I've been around. I think they're receptive to that type of coaching.

"I think [D'Andre] Swift has done a great job, come back from the summer, he's in great shape. He had some plays yesterday that weren't ideal. We might've had a guy unblocked in the hole and yet he's able to extend it and make something happen beyond. "[It's a] highly motivated group. I know the perception out there is that maybe it's not the most talented room in the world. they like to hear that noise. So, we're gonna be just fine."

Ben Johnson speaks to the media on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at Halas Hall (Adam Jahns photo)

And Swift in particular is a bit of tightrope for Johnson. Swift's role diminished in Johnson's offense with the Lions in 2022 — his carries dropped from 11.6 per game in 2021 to 7.1 in 2022 (6.5 carries per game after Week 1). And then he was traded and replaced by David Montgomery (and Jahmyr Gibbs). That the Bears were looking for an upgrade in the draft was no secret.

But whenever he's asked about Swift —  like Thursday, when Johnson was asked by my former Sun-Times colleague Jason Lieser what seems different about Swift now vs. when they were in Detoit — Johnson neither tells you Swift is something he's not, nor throws him under the bus.

"He has always been quiet," Johnson said. "He has always been highly motivated on the inside, so there's a lot of things about him that are the same as what they've been. He's not happy with how last year went for him production-wise, team-wise, everything-wise. He's really motivated. He's really excited to help lead and sput this team forward. I don't think I see a whole lot of differences from where he's been, but I see a very hungry individual."

None of this would matter — it's fairly typical for the honeymoon stage, Johnson's just better at it than most — except that the Bears are so poor and lacking in basic public relations and crisis management that Johnson stands out as a beacon of hope.

The Bears just don't get it. On Tuesday, general manager Ryan Poles did not take questions from the media at the annual press conference to open training camp — a deviation from a long-standing format that was never explained to the media (and has yet to be explained to the media).

On Wednesday, Poles compounded that misplay by appearing on the popular Hoge & Jahns podcast. It's an annual appearance for Poles, but to do it after refusing to take questions at the press conference is weak and disrespectful — an insult to Bears beat reporters and a big disappointment. Now, I know that fans don't care about that, or any of our access issues. But Poles' ignorance of a simple media relations protocol is a symptom of the Halas Hall dysfunction that brings out the worst in everyone who steps foot in the place. It's contagious.

Poles — and president Kevin Warren, for that matter — have been unable to prevent the Bears from embarrassing the organization with poor crisis management (like the departure of Alan Williams in 2023 and having Eberflus hold a press conference an hour before firing him last year). And they're supposed to be the adults in the room at Halas Hall. Instead, they're part of the problem.

That why Ben Johnson'a good first impression is so important. He's the one who has to rise above the muck and help Halas Hall build a winner in spite of itself. It remains to be seen if he himself will be consumed by Halas Hall dysfunction, but his apparently growing influence already is a good sign.

If the bar for success for the Ben Johnson era is three consecutive playoff seasons — something the Bears have not achieved since the Ditka era — I would still bet on Johnson succeeding than failing. But an old refrain rings true today more than ever: His job is more difficult than he knows — changing Halas Hall before it changes him.