“F— the Packers!”: Ben Johnson’s Locker Room Speech Is Proof Bears Finally Got The Guy
The Chicago Bears have had many head coaches walk through their doors. Very few of them ever fully understood the magnitude of the rivalry with the Green Bay Packers and how much it meant to the city. Dave Wannstedt never got it. Dick Jauron never got it. Neither did Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, or Matt Eberflus. Only Mike Ditka and Lovie Smith seemed to grasp it. They took it seriously and seemed to get rewarded for it with loads of team success. Which category would Ben Johnson fall into?
Everybody knew the young coach was an offensive wunderkind. What they didn’t know was whether he could be a leader. Could he grasp the magnitude of this undertaking? Johnson put that question to bed on Saturday night. His Bears overcame a 21-3 deficit in the second half to stun Green Bay 31-27. It was the largest comeback in franchise playoff history. It also marked the third straight season the Packers were one-and-done in the postseason. Johnson summed it all up at the start of his post-game speech to the team.
Ben Johnson isn’t afraid.
That is the big takeaway from all of this. Most head coaches work extremely hard to be mindful of what they say in front of the cameras. In a way, Johnson does do this. However, he does it leading into a game. He’ll say the usual things, remind everybody of their responsibilities and stay focused on the objective. After the game? He clearly doesn’t care anymore. That is why he stripped his shirt off after the Philadelphia game and felt no qualms about telling the Packers exactly what he thinks of them.
Green Bay did plenty of talking leading up to the game. They talked about how the last meeting was a fluke. Chicago got lucky. They desperately wanted another shot at them and acted as if victory was a foregone conclusion. Even defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said he’d talk to the press next week. Ben Johnson said nothing in reply. He waited. After the Bears put them down for good, he finally released everything he’d wanted to say in three explosive words.
Pure poetry.