Poles Johnson e1737649339946 Chicago BearsAnthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times

It’s another new era in Chicago. Five, to be exact, since the Bears moved on from Lovie Smith after the 2012 season. But Ben Johnson made sure his introductory press conference was different on Wednesday. He raised plenty eyebrows, including those of NFL schedule-makers, when he went out of his way to make to the Bears-Packers rivalry a personal affair.

Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell, talking about two guys who are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends here. And to be quite frank with you,” Johnson said with a wry smile explaining why he loved the NFC North, “I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”

Most, including seething Packers fans, thought Johnson was taking a friendly shot at the Packers’ head coach. But according to insider Peter Schrager, Johnson and LaFleur come from different coaching trees and they most certainly are not friends.

“Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur have no relationship,” Schrager said Thursday on Good Morning Football. “There is nothing. There is no overlap. There is no friendship. That changes it. There is nothing like, ‘Hey, I’m poking my old buddy here. We actually worked together at Central Michigan in the late ‘80s.’ There’s nothing. Matt LaFleur does not know Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson does not know Matt LaFleur.”

In other words, strap in. LaFleur is Green Bay’s third full-time head coach this century. Johnson is head coach No. 7 for Chicago since 2000. And don’t even try to count the Bears’ starting quarterbacks over that period, compared to Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. Plus, Chicago isn’t the first to hire the hottest offensive name on the market. And as Aaron Nagler said this week, results haven’t been favorable.

Smith preceded Johnson 21 years ago by telling the world at his introductory press conference, “The No. 1 goal is to beat Green Bay.” The Bears have just four division titles since Smith said that. Green Bay has 10, including Smith’s first season in Chicago.

But as they warn in the financial business to those who choose to forecast the future based on the stock market’s past, past results are not indicative of future performance. Just don’t expect any Christmas cards headed to Chicago from LaFleur’s office.

“He called his name out in a press conference at his opening coach address,” Schrager said, “meaning that’s forever. He’ll always have that moment. And two words he used were someone’s name that he doesn’t even know. I don’t know if that’s bold. I don’t know if that’s funny. I don’t know if that’s humorous. It’s certainly something, and I think if he had said, I like beating the Packers two times a year, it hits differently than saying the guy’s name and not knowing the guy.”

For more information on the Bears and Packers, visit Chicago and Green Bay team pages at ProFootballPost.com.


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By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

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