Bears

Ben Johnson was mightily successful in his debut year as the Bears’ head coach, leading them to the NFC Divisional Round. Chicago WR Rome Odunze said they quickly learned about Johnson as a head coach after he was brought in last offseason. 

“I learned from the first time he stepped into the building who he was, and I learned who he wasn’t,” Odunze said, via Dan Weiderer of The Athletic. “He was consistent throughout the entire season — with his goals for us, with his determination, with how he leads and where he wants this organization to go.”

Odunze feels it was important for them to bring in a coach who could create accountability and a new team culture. 

“Beyond anything else, you need someone who can set a tone, establish that accountability, create a culture,” Odunze said. “If you don’t have that, you don’t have anything. … There are just certain guys who have the unique ability to push guys to the limit, and yet they want to run through a wall for him. There are certain guys whose secret sauce is in front of the team. After practice. After devastating losses. It’s just that genuine ability to turn the worst situation you can ever think of into a mindset among the players of ‘Man, we’re going to fight for this guy.’”

Bears’ backup QB Tyson Bagent said Johnson has proven to be always laser-focused. 

“He’s just always locked in, ya know?” Bagent said. “There is nothing I can think of that could deter him from being super dialed in. I think that is how Ben has built his life.”

Bears

• Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports reports that league insiders expect the Bears to be interested in the Jaguars’ impending free agent RB Travis Etienne.
• Pauline’s sources think Etienne is a better fit for Jacksonville’s offense compared to Chicago’s, given he’s suited for HC Liam Coen‘s offense as a pass-catching threat.
• Per Brad Biggs, the Bears will not receive compensatory picks for the Falcons’ hiring assistant GM Ian Cunningham as GM because the NFL views Falcons President of Football Operations Matt Ryan as the primary football executive for their organization. 
• Biggs adds that this means Chicago could have blocked Cunningham from leaving if they wanted to, but chose against it. 

Vikings

• Vikings owner/president Mark Wilf said he expects to conduct “a thorough search” for a new GM after the draft, per Adam Schefter.
• Wilf says firing GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was “not about any one decision or move, but the entirety of the last few years.” (Garafolo)
• Wilf again asked about Sam Darnold: “It’s not necessarily a fair thing to talk about any one decision. It’s a body of work. It’s a cumulative set of decisions. It’s four years of where we’ve been… We need to get to a better place.” (Jones)
• According to Alec Lewis, many within the organization were blindsided by the timing of the firing, yet it was widely expected around the league.
• Ian Rapoport reports that the team is adding former Dolphins OC Frank Smith as assistant head coach and Keith Carter as OL coach.
• Rapoport also reports that Gerald Alexander will be hired as defensive pass game coordinator and DB coach, and former Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen is being hired as DL coach and defensive run game coordinator.