PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ben Johnson has had a palpable pep to him this week, the enthusiasm of a new NFL head coach eager to get rolling.
Johnson is a week away from gathering his team at Halas Hall for its formal introduction to his way of football life. He’s pumped to get that orientation process started with the coaching staff he assembled and a roster he and general manager Ryan Poles are still in the process of remolding.
Admittedly, though, Johnson has yet to map out his first speech to the 2025 Chicago Bears.
“I haven’t totally formulated what that presentation is going to look like quite yet,” he said with a smile Tuesday. “I tend to like to procrastinate just a little bit. That’s where the best work tends to come out.”
This weekend, Johnson promised, his keynote address will crystallize. The purpose behind his message will be direct.
Remember the words from Johnson’s introductory news conference in January at Halas Hall? Get comfortable being uncomfortable? That sentiment will be expressed in various forms throughout the Bears’ offseason program.
“We’re going to be very, very clear with what we want,” Johnson said. “The communication is going to be crystal clear. The structure is going to be there from Day 1. We’re going to be organized and consistent.
“If we fail to meet the mark, the players are going to know about it. And when we do meet the mark, the players are going to know about it. That’s how this coaching staff is going to coach.”
As April arrived Tuesday, Johnson entered the NFC coaches breakfast not long after sunrise at the NFL owners meetings and spoke enthusiastically about all that’s ahead.
Not far beyond next week’s spring minicamp — an extra session afforded to teams that hired new head coaches — is the NFL draft on April 24-26. That’s the next potential springboard for Johnson and the Bears to become much more competitive rather quickly.
Johnson can sense the opportunity. The Bears hold a wallet of seven picks, including four inside the top 75. They’re scheduled to go on the clock at No. 10 in the first round. They will follow with a pair of second-round selections at Nos. 39 and 41 and then cap Friday night of draft weekend with the 72nd pick.
“It’s a great draft to have those Day 2 picks,” Johnson said. “With 39, 41 and 72, I think those are great value picks this year. You’re going to be able to find some really good players who can be contributors, maybe not on Day 1 but at some point over the course of this season.”
Poles, too, is eager to further the predraft process, a task that will continue in the coming days as the Bears reorganize their big board based on their information gathering from pro days and finalized medical reports on prospects.
“We can start piecing that together to kind of see what is the collection of guys we can get in that space and how can they impact our football team,” Poles said.
In March, Poles used a combination of signings and trades to fortify the Bears roster, adding at least five likely Week 1 starters in offensive linemen
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