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Bears CEO Sent Fans Two Shots After They Gave Him Note Pleading for Ben Johnson

Kristen Wong

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson answers questions during a introductory press conference at PNC Center.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson answers questions during a introductory press conference at PNC Center. / David Banks-Imagn Images
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Congratulations are due for the Chicago Bears for hiring Ben Johnson as their next head coach as the franchise ushers in a new era with one of the NFL’s greatest offensive minds at the helm. 

It only took two weeks and 17 interviews with prospective candidates, but the Bears finally got their man. Pop open the champagne—or, for two Bears fans, knock back some shots.

Days before the Johnson hiring, Bears CEO and president Kevin Warren reportedly received a handwritten note from two fans at a Mexican restaurant in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The fans, who later identified themselves on social media, sent Warren a drink as well as a note with a simple plea: “Please hire Ben.” 

In return, Warren sent two tequila shots to their table:

Too classy.

Little did the fans know as they were downing their shots, their wish would come true.

Warren ended up keeping the note and read it aloud at the Bears’ first press conference to introduce Johnson on Wednesday. 

“I’m going to give it to Ben and hopefully, if we do what we’re supposed to do, one day that note will be framed on [a] wall, someone’s wall,” Warren said.

Here’s to hoping.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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