Ben Johnson "still reeling" from playoff loss, but knew Bears were right for him

The Bears officially have their new head coach in Ben Johnson, introducing him to fans and media with a press conference on Wednesday.

Chicago and Johnson moved quickly to strike a deal after the Lions finished their season with a loss to the Commanders in the divisional round — creating a whirlwind situation over the last few days.

"A tremendous wave of emotions follows up when your season gets ended like it did for us. I’m still reeling through some of those feelings myself right now," Johnson said. "It’s a hard thing to do when you’re around a group of guys that’s as committed as we were to not only winning a division title but getting the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but following through by winning a Super Bowl and coming up short the way that we did. I’m still reeling through that — what I could’ve done differently, of course. As that game ended and exit meetings happened, information was brought to me about potential situations and it did not take long for me to realize where I wanted to continue my career."

How did he know that the Bears were the right fit so quickly?

"To me, I talked about alignment last year when I came back to Detroit — and that was really important to me, to see that the structure setup was conducive to winning," Johnson said. "All those questions were answered throughout the interview process. The guys in front of me right there, George [McCaskey], Kevin [Warren], Ryan [Poles] — I believe in them. And I really believe that we will be able to turn this place around."

While Johnson how much he thought of the interview process, it's also clear he did some work behind the scenes to make sure he'd be comfortable working with Poles as General Manager.

"Here’s what I’d say is, Ryan did his homework, people on my end did our homework as well," Johnson said. "Ryan had left Boston College right when I was getting there. There’s some shared history there. There’s a lot of connections that may or may not have already been put together that people understand. I truly believe in the character and integrity of this man. In terms of true alignment, you’re going to have to talk to the powers that be here — they can fill you in on that structure. But we are going to be locked at the hip and connected every step of the way with all the decisions that are made."

Having coached against the Bears several times, he noted that he felt the team was "a sleeping giant," and was as concerned about coaching against them as any team. Johnson also mentioned multiple times that the roster is already stocked with talent and he's expecting to compete in 2025.

"Walking in this building yesterday gave me goosebumps," Johnson said. "I don’t think many people understand how set up for success this place already is. This facility is outstanding. It is an A-plus facility. And I look forward to meeting all the people in this facility and getting to work."