INDIANAPOLIS – Ben Johnson’s voice carried weight when he was in Detroit. Dan Campbell let his offensive coordinator speak up when it came to scheme and the personnel required to execute it.

Johnson was comfortable speaking up about players and skill sets needed to operate his offense well.

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“He’s got a good eye for what he’s looking for and guys that that he thinks can play a certain role for us,” Campbell said in a Tuesday press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He and I saw things very much alike, so that helps. But, yeah, he’s got a good eye for those things.

“He certainly didn’t lack input on players that he liked or what he saw or what he thought they could do. He was just like anybody else on our staff. And if they’ve got a vision for a guy and they believe in it, then speak up. And he was one of those guys that did it.”

His opinion matters even more in Chicago. The head coach title affords him that. Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles are working together on the best way to upgrade the Bears roster this offseason, and the past five weeks have been spent finding lockstep and formulating a vision for a prosperous future.

“We are constantly talking about how we need to go about improving our football team and adding to our football team,” Poles said in his combine press conference. “Those conversations will be happening almost on a daily basis which is important in any relationship between a front office and coaching staff – specifically between a GM and head coach.”

Poles and his scouts have met extensively with Johnson and his staff to make sure they’re finding the right size, talent and personality fits for how they want to play football. They’ve gone through the roster and impending free agents position by position and both Johnson and Poles have been wowed by how smooth that process has gone.

Johnson valued the fact that Campbell really listened to him. He’s going to give his assistants the same opportunity to chime in.

“Everyone’s going to be heard in terms of what we’re looking for,” Johnson said. “We very clearly outlined what the ideal look would be in terms of attributes, height, weight, speed, in terms of makeup – which is of critical importance for what we’re looking for. But at the same time, if it’s a good football player, we’re going to make it work as a coaching staff. So, there’s a balance going on with that, and I think the dialogue’s been very, very, very healthy so far.

“…I feel really good about the voice that not only I have but the rest of the coaches are going to have in terms of picking these players.”

Johnson praised Poles’ scouting process. Everything was organized, fully buttoned up and ready for the new staff. Poles was admittedly wowed by the level of insight received from Johnson, considering it an upgrade over previous interactions trying to identify proper fits.

“It’s important to have a clear vision of what every single position needs to have,” Poles said. “It’s never going to be perfect; you can’t have a prototype at every single position, but as a front office we want to be as close as possible to that. His ability to give a clear vision of what he wants and needs to be successful has been really, really good. You can just tell the high football IQ is on a different level than what I’ve seen and been a part of before. It’s really good.”