Ben Johnson is an offensive-minded individual. He was a quarterback as a player and has worked exclusively on one side of the ball during his entire coaching career.

Not anymore. He’s the Bears head coach, ultimately responsible for the team’s entire product. While he’ll call offensive plays and give his yet-to-be-hired defensive coordinator at certain level of autonomy, he’ll hire that individual based upon his track record and ability to operate under how Johnson wants his defense run.

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He discussed his defensive philosophy on Wednesday in a laid-back interview session with Bears beat writers following his formal introductory press conference.

It boils down to what he hates facing as an offensive coordinator and a reaction to the NFL’s evolution into a truly quarterback-driven league.

“I can give you all the cliches about pursuit and being relentless and getting takeaways and, yeah, there’s no question about that,” Johnson said. “This game, over the last five years, has transitioned from turnovers and takeaways and it’s now about quarterback play. Offensively, how do we set up our quarterback to have the most success within a game, and how do we disrupt the opposing quarterback?”

Johnson was clear to mention that’s not solely accomplished with a creative pass rush. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Bears will be blitz heavy. Johnson wants to make life difficult on the opposing quarterback. Johnson had a great view of such a defense in Detroit, where former Lions defensive coordinator and current Jets head coach Aaron Glenn showcased a master class in quarterback disruption.

“There’s a number of ways that looks,” he said. “It’s both pass rush and coverage. Certainly, if you are not stopping the run, it’s going to help the quarterback play better, because he has that to lean on as well. So, it’s easier said than done. But whoever we bring in here as defensive coordinator, he’s going to understand that that quarterback disruption is something we focus on every week.”

Johnson’s in the process of finding one, with interview requests out for the Rams’ Aubrey Pleasant and the Vikings’ Daronte Jones. Former New Orleans head coach and noted defensive play caller Dennis Allen has been strongly linked to the Bears defensive coordinator gig as well.

Johnson has been interviewing Bears assistant currently under contract and has told several of them that they won’t be retained.

There was a healthy respect for the Bears defense in recent seasons, most notably a strong run defense in 2022 and 2023 that kept Johnson up at night, especially with Andrew Billings in the middle.

The Bears have every defensive starter under contract for 2025, though some upgrades to the defensive front are required. The end/edge rusher spot opposite Montez Sweat is most pressing, and could be addressed with the No. 10 overall draft pick.

The Bears will be on the hunt for quarterback disruptors from all positions, making sure they fall in line with what Johnson wants to do on defense.