The Chicago Bears were back at Halas Hall for training camp on Thursday, and there was a special guest in attendance: Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill.
The Bears social media account shared an image of Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Blashill meeting at practice, and the Blackhawks social media shared a video of the two new head coaches meeting ahead of practice.
These gentlemen have more in common than just being major league coaches in their first year with a Chicago sports franchise. For one, they are both know the hard-nosed guys that demand a lot from their players. Both the Bears and Blackhawks are going to have a good process, if anything.
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Both Johnson and Blashill also spent time in Detroit, and their tenures even overlapped as Blashill was the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings while Johnson served as the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
Over the last few years, each of these two emerged as head coaching candidates in different ways, but through assistant coaching with a winning program (Johnson with the Lions and Blashill with the Tampa Bay Lightning).
Both coaches also inherited a player taken first overall in their respective draft, and each of them needs to take a step for the franchise to move forward. For the Bears, Caleb Williams has plenty of room for growth before he develops into a winning quarterback. For the Blackhawks, it’s Connor Bedard, who already has had some success in the NHL.
Everyone in Chicago loves these sports teams. They love it even more when they do things together. Seeing Blashill get a tour of Halas Hall, while meeting Johnson in the proces,s is entertaining for even the most casual sports fan in town. Although the Bears are a little ahead, the hope for each team is that they start to move forward after a few lousy years on each side.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears’ Ben Johnson, Blackhawks’ Jeff Blashill meet at training camp