Ben Johnson was drawing football plays long before he coached in the NFL. Now, with the Chicago Bears off to a 5-2 start, the curiosity that filled scraps of paper in his childhood bedroom is shaping an offense built around unusual designs, deception and adjustments to defensive coverage.
That approach produced a touchdown against Philadelphia on Sept. 29. Backup quarterback Case Keenum, starting for the injured Caleb Williams, had questioned Johnson about the play the previous evening. When the Eagles showed an unexpected look after the snap, the design allowed Kalif Raymond to become the primary target. With defenders following three intermediate routes, Keenum found Raymond in the vacated middle for a 41-yard touchdown during Chicago's 27-7 victory.
Raymond said Johnson develops plays around openings in opposing defenses, creating problems that require opponents to adjust during games. Williams described a coach whose confidence in each installation carries over to his players. The offense gives players across the lineup opportunities to contribute, including through assignments that opponents might rarely anticipate.
Johnson's early experiments began in Asheville, North Carolina. His mother, Gail, initially discarded the diagrams she found while cleaning the bedroom he shared with his brother Kyle. After Ben asked about the missing papers as a fifth-grader, she began saving them and recording his explanations. Many remain in a green folder at the family home, preserving the routes, blocking arrangements and formations he imagined while learning the sport.
His father, Don, a former college offensive coordinator who later coached high school football, helped him evaluate those ideas. Watching San Francisco games together, Ben asked detailed questions about penalties and why plays succeeded or failed. He also wanted to know whether his own designs were legal and workable. He went on to quarterback A.C. Reynolds to a state championship, finish among the top five students in his high school class and play at North Carolina as a walk-on.
After coaching stops at Boston College and Miami, Johnson developed his own offense in Detroit. One memorable design from his final season as the Lions' offensive coordinator involved Jared Goff pretending to stumble, Jahmyr Gibbs diving to the ground and players up front shouting about a fumble. The distraction freed Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown against Chicago in December 2024. Bears general manager Ryan Poles saw Johnson as a leading candidate for Chicago's coaching vacancy.
The experimentation has continued with the Bears. In a playoff victory over Green Bay, Johnson assigned offensive tackle Theo Benedet a post route during Chicago's second-half comeback. The 6-foot-7, 304-pound lineman exceeded 16 miles per hour downfield, giving the Packers an unexpected assignment to defend. Benedet said Johnson presents such plays with the same seriousness as a routine run.
Not every idea succeeds. In Chicago's 30-24 Week 7 win over New England, a 4-yard run by guard Joe Thuney was erased because Williams handed him the ball forward instead of backward. Johnson remained willing to experiment afterward. "We shot, we missed. So, keep it moving," he said.
