New Bears HC Ben Johnson delivers shot at Packers' Matt LaFleur

New Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is adding fuel to the fire of the rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.

During Johnson's introductory press conference this week, he made it clear that he wanted to stay in the NFC North division, which he thinks is the best division in football. After spending the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Johnson joins the Bears as their new head coach and the same goal in mind, defeat the Packers.

In his two full seasons with Detroit, Johnson went 3-1 against Green Bay, including sweeping them in their two regular season meetings in 2024. As he stated in his press conference, Johnson particularly enjoyed beating Packers head coach Matt LaFleur twice in a season.

"I know this is the toughest division in football right now, there's three teams that made the playoffs this year," Johnson said. "I've got tremendous respect for the coaches and players in this league, having competed against them for the last six years. Dan Campbell, Kevin O'Connell, and to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year."

In one simple quote and jab towards the Bears' bitter rival, Johnson's fanfare grew tremendously as he noted the importance of beating the Packers.

Up until interim head coach Thomas Brown led them to a Week 18 win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field, the Bears had not beaten their foes from Wisconsin since 2018, and had not done so on the road since 2015. With Johnson in town the goals are clear: Grow and develop Caleb Williams, defeat the Packers twice a year, and make the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: New Bears HC Ben Johnson delivers shot at Packers' Matt LaFleur