Ben Johnson agreed to become the Bears’ head coach a year ago Tuesday. That seems like forever ago, but it’s not because the Bears just went 11-6 and advanced further in the playoffs than they had in the last 15 years.
The dysfunction that Johnson inherited — and that forced the Bears to make their first in-season firing of a head coach in their history last season — has been replaced by a culture shift that extends beyond the field.
‘‘He’s been the catalyst for us,’’ quarterback Caleb Williams said Monday. ‘‘To be able to lead us, to be able to stand strong in tough moments and good moments, to be able to show emotion, be able to be who he is and be consistent with that and do what he said he was going to do, he’s been everything that Chicago’s needed as a coach.’’
Williams showed his affection for Johnson on Tuesday on Instagram, posting a carousel of pictures that included him fist-bumping Johnson when he was introduced as the Bears’ coach. On that day, Johnson laid out what to expect — one sentence after he famously said he enjoyed beating Packers coach Matt LaFleur twice a year.
‘‘I do have a message here for the players: Get comfortable being uncomfortable,’’ he said then. ‘‘The bar has been set higher than it’s ever been set before. The only way for this team and for you as individual players to reach your potential is to be pushed and to be challenged. That’s exactly what I and my staff plan on doing.’’
Johnson insisted on doing things his way, stopping practice during the offseason program if players made mistakes. To paraphrase wide receiver DJ Moore, players quickly decided it was better to go along with him than to get screamed at.
Johnson’s mood doesn’t swing wildly, however. Players who craved consistency from the previous coaching staff learned right away that Johnson was the same person every day.
‘‘I learned from the first time he stepped into the building who he was,’’ wide receiver Rome Odunze said. ‘‘And I learned who he wasn’t.’’
Johnson is intense, direct and whip-smart. He values toughness on the field and off. He ran a training-camp practice that most of his players considered to be the most violent of their careers. Around the same time, he held a team meeting highlighting the Patriots’ comeback from a 28-3 deficit to win the Super Bowl against the Falcons.
He reminded his players about both all season, including when they trailed the rival Packers by 18 points at halftime of their NFC wild-card game.
Leading up to their Week 4 game in Las Vegas, he told the Bears that their reputation for years was one of a team that folded when the game got close. Then the Bears rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit a whopping seven times in their next 15 games.
‘‘His impact on this team has been great,’’ safety Jaquan Brisker said. ‘‘The way he changed the culture, the way he has been a player’s coach. That’s why you see the players go out and play for him every single time. You’re willing to die on the field for a coach like that and a staff like this.’’
It took a proof of concept for the Bears to buy in. They won 11 of 13 games between losing their first and last two.
‘‘We found a good process of playing with effort and focus and playing physical and detailed football,’’ center Drew Dalman said.
Johnson helped turn Williams into the Bears’ single-season passing leader in their first season together. Guard Jonah Jackson spent last season with the Rams and saw a similar dynamic between coach Sean McVay and presumptive MVP Matthew Stafford. Like the Rams’ pairing, the Bears’ duo has the ‘‘ability to make magic happen when things are needed,’’ Jackson said.
A season that began with Williams questioning whether Johnson even liked him ended with him wearing Johnson’s high school football jersey and handing him a game ball after an emotional playoff victory.
‘‘I’m excited that we’re going to be together,’’ Williams said. ‘‘I’m excited about our future. I’m excited about getting back here with him and growing more than I did this year to be able to have games and moments like this many times in our career.’’
As the offensive play-caller, Johnson led the Bears to the sixth-most yards and ninth-most points in the NFL. But his influence goes beyond that side of the ball. His impact on the Bears’ draft decisions portend good things for his partnership with general manager Ryan Poles, alongside whom he will meet the media Wednesday.
‘‘An offensive genius, as everybody knows,’’ running back Kyle Monangai said. ‘‘But just him as a person, as the coach. [He] demands a lot of us but for the right reason. He knows what it takes to win.’’
The same notion struck right tackle Darnell Wright, who, unlike Monangai, lived through the Matt Eberflus years.
‘‘I think he’s established a winning culture,’’ Wright said of Johnson.
Johnson had a winning season, but the true test of the winning culture will come next season. Still, there’s no questioning how much better off the Bears are than they were a year ago.
‘‘We’re really happy with the progress we’ve made and the trajectory we’re on,’’ Dalman said. ‘‘But I don’t think anybody feels satisfied with the finished product.’’
