Few people know more about the pitfalls of coaching the Chicago Bears than Matt Forte. He spent seven years with the team from 2008 through 2015. In that time, he had three head coaches: Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, and John Fox. Since retiring, he's watched Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus come and go as well. It didn't take the former Pro Bowl running back long to recognize what separated Ben Johnson from all of them. No, it wasn't his play-calling prowess, his intelligence, or his mannerisms.
It was much simpler than that. He explained to Ryan Heckman of Fansided.
"I think what's been most impressive is, for one, his confidence. He's got confidence in himself and his ability to call plays and coach. And that's something that we've been missing...
...I think there's been a sense of false confidence in the past years, where it's like, 'oh, we're good.' And everything gets swept under the rug without being genuine about it," Forte admitted. "That's the worst thing you can do as a team is have self-deception, and to really think you're something that you're not."
As usual, Forte demonstrates his wisdom by assessing the situation as well as anyone else could. Anybody with common sense could tell that previous Bears head coaches never came across as fully in control. That is to say, they talked a big game, but you could tell from how they operated that they felt out of their depth. It was especially true of Trestman and Eberflus. Even Nagy and Fox sometimes looked overwhelmed by the massive scope of coaching a big-city team like Chicago.
Ben Johnson had the advantage of experience on his side.
When he took the Bears job, he already had a good feel for what fans of this city would be like. After all, he developed a huge love for the Cubs over the years, often visiting Wrigley Field during his off time. That gave him a taste of what he could expect from Chicago if he were to take over their most cherished team. This is not a job for the faint of heart. He needed to not only demonstrate his command and self-confidence, but also genuinely believe in it. Fans aren't the only ones who can smell weakness. Players do too.
After all, Johnson had seen such things happen before with Joe Philbin and Adam Gase in Miami, then Matt Patricia in Detroit. All three had earned their opportunities at the head job. Unfortunately, none of the three were prepared for the challenge they faced. Johnson knew what he was getting into with the Bears
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