The Chicago Bears are winning for the first time in years. Their shirtless coach is a big reason why.

By Hannah Keyser, CNN

(CNN) — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson acknowledged his burgeoning reputation as, according to his quarterback, a “man of the people” on Monday.

“I think anytime you get a chance to feed the city, you want to do it. So, man of the people,” Johnson said in his press conference.

He meant that literally.

By tearing off his shirt in machismo-riddled jubilation, Johnson had delivered unto Chicago a feast — or, at least, roughly 2,000 free hot dogs. But the sentiment — quelling a craving, fueling a fervor, feeding the psychic hunger of a fanbase famished for reasons to celebrate ostentatiously — is applicable more broadly, too.

Three hundred and sixty-five days after the Bears — then a lowly laughing stock en route to a third-straight last-place finish in the NFC North — fired Matt Eberflus as head coach, Johnson’s Bears bested the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles over Thanksgiving weekend. It was a decisive, 24-15 victory on the road to bring their record to a division-best 9-3.

In the span of a year, the Bears stopped being losers and moved atop the NFC standings. If you’re wondering what changed, it starts with the guy wearing the headset calling plays.

A clip of Johnson roaring shirtless in the postgame locker room went viral. The visual alone is striking, but the act also triggered a giveaway foretold over a month before when The Wiener’s Circle, a Chicago street food institution, promised free hot dogs in exchange for just such a display.

It’s not incidental that Johnson’s hypothetical antics were chosen — via X poll — as an avatar for the team’s success.

Twelve games into his first season as a head coach and he’s being heralded as an underpaid — at reportedly $13 million annually — creator of a championship-like culture. Or maybe just a brilliant offensive mind who has buoyed the Bears’ scoring from 28th last season to eighth this year

A recently rudderless franchise that trained its fans to expect disappointment is now earning plenty of reasons to believe.

Their reputation as collapse artists followed them through the start of the season. Eight weeks into the campaign, with a 4-3 record, both ESPN and The Athletic ranked them 16th out of 32 teams — the lowest of any team with a winning record. But even then, as the experts remained skeptical it would translate to results, ESPN wrote that under Johnson, the accountability, buy-in, and culture “feels different than other seasons.”

The Bears haven’t lost since.

And their latest win, over the defending Super Bowl champions on the road, was worth more than just 1,000 feet of frankfurter (we did the math). It ensured a winning record for the first time since 2018 and should help to dispel some of the skepticism that the Bears success so far this season has been built by cruising through a comparatively easy schedule.

Because, as they enter a critical stretch where they’ll play the second-place Green Bay Packers in two of their next three games, the question plaguing the Bears is: Are they just lucky, or is this what it looks like when a team is clutch, confident and well-coached?

Their +6 point differential is eighth in the conference, exactly average, and more than 60 points worse than division rivals Green Bay and Detroit. That’s largely the fault of the defense, which is bottom-third in the league.

That soft schedule? Only the Patriots have had an easier strength of schedule rating.

Sophomore quarterback and 2024 first-overall draft pick, Caleb Williams was a disappointment last year and the stats say his passing game has only gotten worse this season, landing him last among qualified QBs in pass completion.

But, as Johnson himself said this week, “We’re winning in spite of our passing game.” He meant that as a critique and, in fact, was forced to later clarify that he’s still happy with his quarterback.

And yet, the tension captured in that comment is illustrative of a dynamic that has made the Bears exciting and fun to root for this season.

Chicago built an improved offensive line and Johnson designs plays to cater to Williams’ strengths, or at least to minimize his deficiencies. Along with rushing the ball (an area in which they’re second in the league), they succeed by forcing turnovers (the otherwise lackluster defense is tops in takeaways) and surrendering very few of their own.

Williams, who could have languished as a top pick that proved to be a bust, has developed a reputation as clutch and cool under pressure as the Bears have mounted a number of fourth-quarter comebacks.

Trailing late in games isn’t exactly reflective of a dominant team that’s necessarily destined for greatness. And it’s not clear that the Bears are a great team, at least not yet anyway. They’re probably a little lucky, caught on the cusp between “bad” and “good” where the right calls and the right confidence can sway things just enough toward success that begets more success.

It’s fun. And for now it’s working.

The Bears are winning, they’re likely headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and on Tuesday, fans lined up around the block in 20-degree weather for a hot dog that’s normally not even $7 – all because it was bestowed upon them by the coach who changed the culture of football in Chicago.

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