This Sunday’s divisional round matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears is a clash of two of the best offensive minds in the NFL today. Both Sean McVay and the Ben Johnson thrived as innovative offensive coordinators before taking over teams and proving they have what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL.
Of course, McVay has been at this position longer, having taken over the Rams in 2017 while Johnson is in his first year in Chicago.
But both are special and McVay spoke very highly of Johnson ahead of their clash on Sunday, via Stu Jackson of theRams.com:
“I think he does a great job,” McVay said Monday. “I’ve studied him really closely from when he took over and started doing it in Detroit. I think the guys that do the best job are the ones that you can see there’s a true understanding of what defenses are doing and an intent to try to be able to manipulate a lot of the rules and the coaching points and to really try to attack your front mechanics, your coverage contours, understand some of the percentages of what you’re doing situationally, and then being able to maximize his player skill sets. You could see there’s a philosophy and core beliefs in terms of how he wants to build it. You look at the four free agents they signed, you look at the guys that they drafted high up, taking the tight end and in a lot of the instances where he was able to take advantage of (Sam) LaPorta in Detroit. I think what shows his flexibility is the ability to have one of the best offenses with a player like Jared (Goff) who’s really special and then being able to have some similar foundational principles with (Bears’ Quarterback) Caleb (Williams), but also be able to accentuate the things that make him really unique with the athleticism, the ability to move the spot and then take advantage of their skill around it.”
And the feeling is mutual as Johnson also had a ton of praise for McVay, calling him clearly one of the best coaches in the league:
“It’s hard to gauge who’s best and who’s worst when it comes to coaching, but there’s no question about it — he’s (McVay) in the upper echelon,” Johnson told Chicago reporters Monday. “All of his teams are well-prepared. There’s no doubt that he’s super sharp on the offensive side, but how he does it as a head coach, bringing all three phases together, is really critical to their success. He knows how to speak to the team and get the most out of them. There’s a reason why they’re in it damn near every year since he’s been there.”
Both McVay and Johnson were able to come into their first head coaching roles and immediately change the culture of their teams. McVay led a seven-win improvement in his first year and has had just one losing season so far in his career. Meanwhile, Johnson oversaw a six-win leap for the Bears as they won one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.
The respect between these two is real and that is why both understand that they will need to be locked in to lead their team to the NFC Championship Game.
Bears coach Ben Johnson praises Rams QB Matthew Stafford
Johnson also has some history with Matthew Stafford as he worked with the Rams quarterback in Detroit for two seasons. And the Bears coach had a ton of praise for Stafford as they are set to face one another.
