For Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, numbers were more than just something you learn in school… they were an early obsession.
Some of Johnson’s first memories are tied to math, sparked by the rhythmic multiplication drills his mother, Gail, would recite to help his sister with homework on their way to school. While most kids doodled, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Johnson filled entire spiral notebooks with neat, sequential columns of numbers, writing from one to 10,000 simply for fun.
His father, Don, a high school principal and football coach, recalls the dedication: “It wasn’t addition or subtraction or any of that kind of stuff, but he went through the numbers and made sure he had them all right. He really did get to be a pretty bright kid in terms of the different math qualities.”
Ben Johnson: From Numbers to Football Strategy
Math may have come easy to Johnson, but it wasn’t his passion. Growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, he became equally devoted to football. He participated in MathCounts competitions as a middle-schooler, but in between tests, Johnson was already blending his two worlds by dragging teammates outside to throw the football.
Numbers may have sharpened his mind, but football sharpened his heart.
Even as a child, Johnson’s football influences were clear. His father often had San Francisco 49ers games on TV, and Johnson found himself drawn to Joe Montana and Bill Walsh’s legendary West Coast offense. He’d see diagrams on the screen, study how plays were drawn up, and soon started sketching his own formations.
Want to know how Ben Johnson developed into an offensive innovator? Check out these plays he drew up as a middle schooler. https://t.co/BDZhqJMi3X https://t.co/MIliYbsz73 pic.twitter.com/FrmDz3TvZe
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 8, 2025
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“He saw how those plays were diagrammed, and those were things that he thought he could buy into,” Don recalled. That mix of imagination and analytical thinking laid the foundation for Johnson’s coaching style today.
A Cerebral Leader From the Start
Johnson’s blend of intelligence and passion carried him to A.C. Reynolds High School, where he became a state champion quarterback in 2002 and was named conference player of the year. At the same time, he finished near the top of his class academically, proving his sharp mind matched his athletic skill. His former quarterbacks coach, Steve McCurry, vividly remembers how Johnson’s football IQ elevated the entire team.
“He’s so cerebral and so smart, he could tell the offensive linemen who to block, tell the running back where he needs to go, tell the receivers what routes to run,” McCurry said.
It was clear, Johnson had the instincts of a coach even before he officially wore the headset. McCurry later admitted, “If I knew what I know now, I would’ve let him call the plays for us, be a player-coach on the field.”
Now, as the Bears’ head coach, Johnson brings the same qualities that once had his high school coaches leaning on him for answers. His talent for numbers and passion for football are why people like The Athletic’s Mike Sando call him an “evil genius,” and why the Bears believe they’ve found the right head coach.
The kid who once filled notebooks is now filling playbooks with ideas, and the Bears are banking on his unique blend of math and football to deliver results in Chicago.
Main Image: Kamil Krzaczynski – Imagn Images
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