LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Ben Johnson didn't have to search long to find motivation for the Chicago Bears to stay in the mix of contenders following a breakthrough 2025 season.
"Well, we're the No. 1 regression candidate so ... I think we've got plenty of motivation ourselves," Johnson said Friday. "We talked about [quarterback] Caleb [Williams] in the past. He's used to handling a lot of attention, so I'm not worried about that."
The comments came in response to an apparent jab at the Bears and Williams by Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen, who said he doesn't understand why his 13-win team hasn't generated similar media attention.
"I just pull out my phone and look at the NFL Network website," Coen said in an interview on Jacksonville radio station 1010XL. "It's just curious if I see any photos or anything about the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"I think I'll see 40 pictures of Caleb Williams, and I won't see a single thing about any of our players on here. And so it's beautiful ... it's going to tell all these guys how much you all think they suck, and we'll just keep going."
Chicago fielded an offense that generated the second-most explosive plays (127) last season while Williams earned the cover of "Madden NFL 27" and was deemed a top 10 quarterback in ESPN's annual poll of coaches, executives and scouts. However, an NFL-record seven of the Bears' wins last season -- including a playoff victory over Green Bay -- occurred after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation. Some have viewed this as a potential reason to expect regression for Chicago this upcoming season.
Johnson has downplayed that notion, along with the concern that teams could get a bead on the Bears' offense in his second season as coach. It's why, despite emerging in the category of NFC contenders, Johnson doesn't view the Bears as a team that is being the hunted. Neither do his players.
"We're always the hunters and that's the mindset," defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. "Because it don't really matter about what anybody else is doing. It's about how we're going about our process and what we do. We're always the hunters. That's the mindset we've taken."
As for Coen, finding ways to channel perceived disrespect from a lack of media hype and recognition hasn't been difficult.
"You don't have to make up telling your players stuff," Coen said. "You don't have to make up the fire. You don't have to make it up. It's given to us every day."
