Kevin O'Connell had high praise for new Bears head coach Ben Johnson
There is plenty of familiarity within the NFC North, even more so now with Ben Johnson departing the Detroit Lions to become the new head coach of the Chicago Bears.
After serving as offensive coordinator in Detroit since 2022, Johnson now joins Lions head coach Dan Campbell, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, in a division full of rivalries, and bright minds.
For his work with the Vikings this season, O'Connell earned the 2024 Coach of the Year award at NFL Honors. All three of the Bears' divisional rivals finished with at least 11 wins on the season, with the Lions taking the top seed in the NFC and O'Connell leading Minnesota to the playoffs with veteran Sam Darnold enjoying a resurgent year.
In New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX week, O'Connell took time to speak with CHGO on the Bears' hiring of Johnson, and revealed that, even as opponents, the two coaches would text each other about specific plays.
"It's not even a secret anymore, we're all watching each other, I remember getting a text from him [Johnson] about a play, I'd text him about a play, whatever it was," O'Connell said. "But I'll tell you this, what they did offensively, I know Jared Goff really well, he's a fantastic quarterback, but what they did [in Detroit] and just how well it was put together. It's fundamentally sound, it's systematically sound, but it's also the next level now. They're challenging the barriers of what people thought could be possible to do, with really good players, Ben is fantastic."
Giving credit to his own defensive coordinator Brian Flores, O'Connell said the battle between Flores and Johnson was fascinating to watch, not only because of the players, but the talent of both coaches.
The NFC North is certainly going to be an even more exciting division with Johnson's arrival in Chicago, and each game in the division could be a brilliant battle of the minds.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Kevin O'Connell had high praise for new Bears head coach Ben Johnson
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