Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson continues to make headlines.
This time, the first year head coach left fans unimpressed with an awkward half-time interview with CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala.
The interview came when the Bears were losing 14-9 to the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was clear Johnson wasn’t pleased right from the opening question.
Kinkhabwala began the interview by saying, “Your offense has struggled,” but Johnson interrupted and said, in a sarcastic tone,
“They haven’t done anything, you’re right.”
The CBS reporter responded by saying, “So, what did you tell them to get things going?”
“That wasn’t our brand of football,” Johnson said. “We’re capable of a lot more, and so we’re hitting the reset button here at halftime and we’re going to come back and establish our identity here in the second half.”
With the Bears struggling a little to move the ball, Kinkhabwala continued, “Do you need to change what you’re doing?”
It was at this point that Johnson appeared to have had enough, staring down the reporter for a few seconds before giving his final response and walking off.
“I don’t know. You think so? We’re going to be just fine,” he said.
Ben Johnson slammed for treatment of reporter
The exchange quickly went viral on social media with Johnson in his first year as the Bears head coach, criticized for seemingly not keeping his cool.
Former NFL star Emmanuel Acho was one of Johnson’s loudest critics.
“After watching the whole interview, Ben Johnson was tripping.
“1) Reporters don’t want to talk to losing coaches, they have to,” he wrote on X.
“2) Ben Johnson wouldn’t even let her ask the question, he just kept trying to talk over her.
“3) She asked, ‘do you need to change what you’re doing?’ A fair question. She didn’t tell him to change what he’s doing.”
“Absolutely immature by him. Aditi deserves better,” another user on X posted.
“I don’t like this one bit from Ben Johnson with the reporter Aditi,” one user posted.
“He was completely out of line for that,” another user wrote.
After impressing as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell for three years, Johnson is now in the big chair himself and so far has caused a stir for his press conferences and sideline behaviour.
The 39-year-old’s visible frustration with a Caleb Williams’ error earlier this season attracted lots of attention.
Chicago Bears get back to .500
For Bears fans, Sunday’s game will serve as a memorable one as the side rallied to overturn that halftime deficit and take their record to 2-2 for the season
The win didn’t come easy either, as after taking the lead with 1:34 to go, thanks to a 2-yard touchdown from D’Andre Swift, Chicago was still on the verge of losing.
As Las Vegas’ Dylan Laube returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the Raiders’ 42, putting the home side in a prime field position to win the game.
However, Chicago’s Josh Blackwell blocked their potentially game-winning kick to ensure the Bears stole a vital win on the road.
The Bears sit at .500 following back-to-back victories, with the first win of the season coming in another thriller against the Dallas Cowboys.
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