Ben Johnson is establishing a new culture for the Chicago Bears. Here’s what that will look like.

New Bears head coach Ben Johnson laid out the basics when he met with his players in-person for the first time at Halas Hall on Monday.

Johnson gave what he told players would be one of his longest speeches as the Bears started their voluntary offseason program. He described the dos, the don’ts, where to park and set the precedent for what the team’s identity was going to be during his tenure.

The moment wasn’t anything different from what a new coach does in any other sport at any other level of play. But after a year of asking for stronger leadership and accountability, players were inspired by Johnson’s speech and vision for the future.

“He stepped up there with confidence, guys were all ears, gave him the utmost respect, and that’s what it’s all about,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said Tuesday when he met with reporters. “You feel that as players, I felt that. I’m like, OK, this guy is the real deal. We have the same type of mindset. That’s the thing that you get most excited about. Even walking out of that room, it’s like, OK, I feel the energy. Now let’s put the work in as players now.”

That energy was what the Bears had seemingly looked for a lot during a disastrous 5-12 season last year. After a promising 4-2 start to the season under rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears went on to lose 10 straight. The team fired former head coach Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron along the way

Players voiced concerns about accountability throughout the season. Former Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis gave the first hint of trouble when he told reporters that players wanted to be coached up more. More moments followed, none more memorable than when cornerback Tyrique Stevenson wasn’t ready for the final play of the Bears’ last second-loss to the Washington Commanders on a Hail Mary.

Accountability was one of Johnson’s main focuses during his introductory press conference in January. He called it and integrity the team’s cornerstones moving forward, along with a team-first mentality.

Johnson said that players would understand the communication, structure and consistency of it starting Monday. If players fell short of those expectations, there would be consequences.

“We are going to get to the point when we are winning here, where our veteran players are going to take over the accountability portion of it,” Johnson said. “Until we get there, though, it’s going to be on us as the coaching staff to outline what it should look like, what a Chicago Bear is going to look like, what that professional work ethic is going to look like.”

The message resonated with players like right tackle Darnell Wright. Wright will enter his third season since the team drafted him No. 10 overall in 2023 and is hoping to have more or a leadership role this offseason.

He didn’t delve into Johnson’s message beyond the basics. But Wright said Johnson hit on some good points, showing “he’s made of the right stuff.”

“When he’s talking, you can see how he gets fired up,” Wright said. “He gets a lot of passion and I think that’s contagious.”

Part of Johnson’s culture change for many players will be adopting his mindset toward winning. Or rather, dominating.

Edmunds said he learned how much Johnson isn’t content with winning but likes to win by a wide margin when he spoke to people familiar with Johnson’s time with the Detroit Lions. He even had first-hand experience going against Johnson’s offense with the Lions over the past couple of seasons when Detroit scored 29 or more points twice.

“He stepped up there with confidence, guys were all ears, gave him the utmost respect and that’s what it’s all about. You feel that as players, I felt that. I’m like, OK, this guy is the real deal. We have the same type of mindset.”

—  Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears linebacker

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson echoed his coach’s mindset Tuesday. He said the Bears need to develop into a team that isn’t just content with winning but blowing teams out.

“It’s not just about trying to just get better and take the next step and just win more games than we won last year,” Jaylon said. “No, it’s about changing your mentality and how you go about attacking things. I feel like as a unit, if we can go in with that confidence, that mentality that we’re going to go and blow the team out in front of us and that they can’t mess with us, then I feel like a lot of times that willpower will get you there.”

But Jaylon also was cautious about buying in too much into a speech in April. He will play for his third head coach since the team drafted him in 2020. The Bears have gone 29-55 during his time with the team.

Jaylon said he made sure to attend the start of workouts even though they were voluntary to show his respect to the new coaches and his teammates. But he also isn’t focused on the offseason hype since, in his mind, hype doesn’t win games.

“I’ve been through it too many times,” Jaylon said. “I’m going to get excited when we win in November and December and we change some things and get to the playoffs, that’s when I’ll be excited.”