Ben Johnson credits Bears veterans for buying in during his first year

Most NFL franchises having growing pains when a new coaching staff begins their tenure, and the Chicago Bears certainly had theirs with their first two games under Ben Johnson. Starting 0-2 on the season, the Bears had many critics wondering if Johnson could actually be the answer, and now after 11 games, Chicago is 8-3, standing atop the NFC North division.

Not only is this Chicago's first year with Johnson, but it's also happening with several new names on the roster, creating urgency for all sides to get familiar quickly. Such has been the case for the Bears, having much more early success than expected, and Johnson spoke on the buy in he's gotten from the players, crediting the significant amount of veterans on the team.

"I think we’ve got the right type of guys," Johnson said. "Ryan's (Poles) really done a great job with constructing the roster that way. But the veteran leadership is outstanding. Kevin Byard, Joe Thuney, Grady (Jarrett). We probably have 10 or 12 guys that I really lean into on a weekly basis just to get a pulse of the team and they do a really good job of keeping the main thing, the main thing in the locker room.

"As a coaching staff, we always try to have the right messaging for whatever that week entails and the path to victory, team building, things of that nature. I think it's come along really well, but it's really those veterans that I just can't sing their praises enough. They lead the charge there in terms of how that locker room responds each and every week. Being able to hit that reset button and we've had some success. Yet we go right back to work come Wednesday of last week, or this week it'll be Monday. It is a quick turnaround so we’ve got to maintain that high level of focus so that we don't falter whatsoever."

There's a good mix of veterans and young players on the Bears roster, and that, combined with the coaching staff in place, have gotten the team off to an incredible start this year. No matter how the season ends, it's been a complete 180 from 2024, where there were several in-season coaching changes and a 10-game losing streak that the entire Bears fanbase and organization would love to erase from their memories forever.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson credits Bears veterans for buying in during his first year