Richard Hightower Already Knows Bears Hit Home Run With Ben Johnson

Richard Hightower has been coaching in the NFL for almost 20 years. He got his first break in 2006, joining the Houston Texans' staff. He probably had no idea then, but he would enjoy good fortune working for some excellent head coaches in the coming years. It started with Gary Kubiak in Houston, who would give that franchise its first winning seasons and eventually win a Super Bowl in Denver. Hightower would then get to work with the legendary Mike Shanahan in Washington, a two-time champion. Last but certainly not least, the special teams coach spent five years in San Francisco under Kyle Shanahan.

At the same time, Hightower has also endured some ugly stretches like Mike Pettine in Cleveland, Chip Kelly in San Francisco, and Matt Eberflus in Chicago. One would think he has a pretty good eye for what separates the great coaches from the ones who aren't cut out for the job. Hightower didn't know Ben Johnson personally. He only knew him by reputation. In their six months together since Johnson took over as head coach, Hightower has already reached a bold conclusion.

Johnson is the real deal. He has that special quality the great ones do.

"Because [Johnson] was on the opposing team, you always knew who he was and things like that, but I hadn't worked with him. But I knew from afar when I watched some of his press conferences or some of that stuff, I was like, the guy's pretty sharp. But then, when you work with him and you can see the attention to detail and how he meticulously looks at everything, no matter what it is, dives deep into things, and has an eye -- real head coaches have an eye for things when they happen and they're able to anticipate stuff. And I'm just telling you, I've been, I'm just telling you, and ain't going to sit up here and talk about it forever but you guys just watch. We got a good head coach. I've been around a lot of them. Damn good. Special."

Richard Hightower would know this better than fans.

Could he be paying lip service? Maybe. Then again, he has no reason to. It's not like Johnson's job is in jeopardy. There isn't any outside noise about him being on the hot seat. Those comments weren't even brought up from a question about Johnson. They were unprompted after Richard Hightower had been asked about Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, with whom he's worked several times in the past. That should tell you how real his feelings are about Johnson. If that doesn't get people excited about the months ahead, nothing will. Johnson's influence is already being felt at every level of the organization. Discipline has improved. Intensity has improved. Players seem more confident and sure of the team's direction. Hightower saw it coming months ago.