Ben Johnson was emphatic and effusive in his praise of the Bears’ organization on the day he was announced as the franchise’s new head coach.

That in and of itself isn’t particularly surprising — to hear a coach express excitement about taking over a new team.

[Inside Ben Johnson’s path to Bears and why he felt drawn to Chicago]

But there was something more to Johnson’s praise — something that comes from years of competing against the Bears in the same division.

Johnson had offers from other NFL teams and was the most coveted head coach candidate on the market after three years of turning the Detroit Lions into the league’s best offense.

And during his time there, he had to play against — and game plan against — the NFC North rival Bears twice a season.

[EXCLUSIVE: 1-on-1 interview with Ben Johnson]

So even now, as he takes over a Chicago team that’s coming off a disappointing season that included a 10-game losing streak, Johnson believes coaching the Bears presented a great opportunity.

Why?

“I have not watched all the tape, but I have a good feel from game planning against this defense and certainly seeing the crossover tape with the offense that I feel really confident about the current talent level already in the building,” Johnson said at his introductory press conference Wednesday. “Going into this season, I felt like this place was a sleeping giant. To be honest with you, I personally was more concerned about the Chicago Bears than I was anybody else in this division.”

Whoa. That’s a strong statement, especially in hindsight, as the NFC North turned into the best division in football in 2024, sending three out of its four teams to the playoffs.

“Now there’s a number of reasons why that did not unfold, which, that’s why I’m here,” Johnson continued. “I’ll get to the bottom of that, and we’ll see if we can’t get that corrected and cleaned up. But I was very encouraged with what was already on the roster right here. And like I said before, this division, as hard as it is, really excited about competing here.”

[MORE: Ben Johnson’s message to Bears employees on his first day: ‘This is exactly where we wanted to be’]

In a follow-up question, Johnson was asked what about the Bears scared him the most entering the 2024 season.

“Personally, we struggled with that defense here for both games that we played them in 2023, so that was a huge deal,” Johnson said. “Knowing that as much as I struggle, staying up at night, trying to attack this defense, I knew what that was capable of, and then seeing all the weapons that they have on offense here — really, really encouraging.”

Johnson knows full well what he’s getting into with the Bears job, and despite interest from other teams — namely the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars — he ultimately chose Chicago.

When a reporter asked Johnson what about Chicago tipped the scales, he began his answer before the question was concluded.

“The people,” he said. “The people — point blank. The interview process was excellent for me — answered all the questions I was looking forward to. And not to mention the family atmosphere that they clearly outline was a huge selling point as well.”

In another follow-up, Johnson was asked if having a franchise quarterback such as Caleb Williams helped him make his decision.

A smile crept over Johnson’s face as he said: “Having a quarterback helps.”