Bears fans get robbed of seeing how much things actually changed with Ben Johnson leading the team in 2025 beyond the obvious
The NFLPA report cards will not be public information anymore.
The Chicago Bears took a 180 turn as a franchise when the team made the decision to hire Ben Johnson as the next head coach replacing Matt Eberflus and the results immediately spoke for itself.
The Bears went from a 5-12 team to an 11-6 team in Year 1 under Johnson, a season that also included an NFC North title and a home playoff win against the Green Bay Packers. And it wasn’t just the success that made the difference.
Johnson created a strong feeling of belief and accountability in the Bears locker room, one season removed from having no once of belief of accountability in that entire building. The Bears are better for it and now knocking on the door of a potential Super Bowl sooner than later.
However, fans won’t get a chance to see the real difference Johnson brought to the entire building after a new announcement made by the league on Friday.
NFL Players Association announce report cards will no longer be publicly available
Over the past few years, the NFLPA had released report cards for all 32 teams giving players the opportunity to grade the organization from the top-down in various different categories. It’s an insightful process that helps inform the public, and the owners, where the organization fell short over the previous year.
Of course, owners didn’t like that information being publicly available and won the battle to have that information withheld from the public going forward.
Last year’s report card was pretty revealing for the Bears after former head coach Matt Eberflus was ranked last in the league with a “C” grade that included this quote:
“The players’ most frequent complaint was with their former head coach Matt Eberflus. The players felt like he lacked a willingness to listen to the players and the players’ leadership council, and he mismanaged the weekly team schedule.”
The other two areas of concern that season included the treatment of families (C+ grade) and food / dining area (C+ grade).
After hiring Ben Johnson, the Bears made quick work to improve in those areas but unfortunately we won’t be able to see how the Bears graded out after the first year with Johnson in charge. However, this quote from WR Rome Odunze should tell you all you need to know.
“I honestly I feel like I learned from the first time he stepped into the building who he was and I learned who he wasn’t,” Odunze said. “He’s been consistent throughout the entire season with his goals for us and with his determination and how he leads, where he wants this organization to go. He’s been super consistent with that, so I think that’s something that, honestly, is a great thing. It hasn’t been something that you have to continue to like try and judge or feel out. From the day he stepped in, he wants this organization to be great and he leads by example.”
Johnson ended up being one of the finalist for the AP Coach of the Year award and while he didn’t bring home the hardware, he did prove to be an massive upgrade this team needed at the right time. Even without seeing the true grade, it’s easy to Johnson was an A+ coach.
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