Rivalry in the NFC North runs incredibly deep. With one coach’s recent decision to jump from one of its teams to another, that anger and resentment had already been baked in.
For Ben Johnson, the former offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, the choice to join the Chicago Bears as their new head coach was an easy one.
In his introductory press conference, the newly-minted Bears coach leaned further into the hatred for other NFC North teams by calling out the team considered Chicago’s biggest rival – the Green Bay Packers.
Specifically, Johnson poked fun at Packers head coach Matt LaFleur – who Johnson and the Lions had an easy time dispatching earlier this season.
‘I know this is the toughest division in football right now,’ Johnson said at his introduction.
‘There is [sic] three teams that made the playoffs this year. I’ve got [a] tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and players in this league having competed against them for the last six years.
Ben Johnson loves beating Packers HC Matt LaFleur:“To be quite frank with you, I kinda enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”😈😈😈pic.twitter.com/8m8gdasrCi https://t.co/GtHHbZQIqQ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 22, 2025 
The Chicago Bears presented new head coach Ben Johnson (R) on Wednesday afternoon
In his press conference, Johnson poked fun at rival Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur
Johnson beat LaFleur twice this past season as offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions
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‘[Detroit Lions coach] Dan Campbell, [Minnesota Vikings coach] Kevin O’Connell, you’re talking about two guys that are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends here. And to be quite frank with you, I kinda enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.’
This season, the resurgent Detroit Lions were able to knock the Packers off in both their regular season meetings.
They first managed to down the Packers 24-14 on the road at Green Bay’s historic Lambeau Field in a contest that wasn’t particularly close after a 17 point second quarter.
Game 2 was much closer as the Lions required a field goal from kicker Jake Bates as time expired to knock off Green Bay again by a score of 34-31.
Throughout his time with the Lions, Johnson saw Detroit beat Green Bay six out of ten times. The only season where they lost to Green Bay twice was 2020 – when the Packers were led by Aaron Rodgers in the midst of his third of four NFL MVP campaigns.
Chicago wasn’t as lucky as Detroit this season – as they went 1-1 against LaFleur and the Packers.
While the Packers, Lions, and Vikings all made the playoffs (all have since been eliminated), the Bears did not – going 5-12 and losing ten straight games before their season-ending win against Green Bay. Prior to the season finale, they hadn’t won a game since mid-October.
Johnson has gained a reputation as an offensive guru and will look to improve upon an offense that finished ᴅᴇᴀᴅ last in the league in total yards and fifth-worst in points per game.
