The friendships formed on the gridiron are often weighed in gold and remain a part of a player’s life long after his playing days. Similarly, NFL coaches also share a similar brotherhood, which is often immortalized through football. Hence, when Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson took shots at Matt LaFleur after beating his Green Bay Packers, Sean McVay took notice ahead of the Los Angeles Rams’ NFC divisional matchup in the Windy City.

McVay, who shares a long friendship with LaFleur, was asked whether the Packers head coach had helped him ahead of the game against the Bears after facing Chicago thrice in the 2025 season.

“What would you guess?” he responded with a smile before adding, “No, you know what, we watch the tape, we do our work, and Matt is a very close friend of mine.”

Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur have been extremely close friends through their coaching careers after starting with the Washington Redskins, where they worked as assistants under head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. After working together from 2011 to 2013, the pair parted ways before reuniting in 2017 when McVay was named the Rams’ head coach and enlisted LaFleur as his offensive coordinator.

Despite Matt LaFleur leaving Los Angeles in a year to work with the Tennessee Titans and then becoming Green Bay’s head coach, he and Sean McVay remain the best of friends, with the Rams head coach describing LaFleur as “my big brother” during an interview with ESPN.

Hence, it was expected of Sean McVay to take some action after Bears head coach Ben Johnson had doubled down on his “I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year” statement by yelling “F*** the Packers” after beating Green Bay 31-27 in the NFC Wildcard round.

While these comments will work as added motivation, the LA Rams head coach has been preparing for Ben Johnson for a long time, as he revealed during his recent press conference ahead of the NFC Divisional matchup.

Sean McVay addresses the Ben Johnson challenge

After taking over the 5-12 Chicago Bears ahead of the 2025 season, Ben Johnson has transformed the Windy City into one of the best teams in the NFL. With Johnson as their head coach, Chicago won the NFC North with an 11-6 record and then decimated the Packers in the Wildcard round. Addressing this astronomical growth, Sean McVay detailed how Ben Johnson has improved the Bears.

“I’ve studied him really closely from when he took over and started doing it in Detroit,” McVay said. “I think the guys that do the best job are the ones that you can see there’s a true understanding of what defenses are doing and an intent to try to be able to manipulate a lot of the rules and the coaching points and to really try to attack your front mechanics, your coverage contours, understand some of the percentages of what you’re doing situationally, and then being able to maximize his player skill sets. You could see there’s a philosophy and core beliefs in terms of how he wants to build it.

McVay’s praise for Johnson, however, subtly draws a line between professional admiration and the competitive tension ahead.

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“You look at the four free agents they signed, you look at the guys that they drafted high up, taking the tight end [Colston Loveland] and in a lot of the instances where he was able to take advantage of [Sam] LaPorta in Detroit.”

As noted by Sean McVay, Ben Johnson has transformed Chicago into a winning machine, as the Bears are ranked sixth in total offense and ninth in scoring offense in 2025 after being in the bottom five in both categories in 2024.

Similarly, Johnson has elevated his QB1, Caleb Williams, who recorded a 3942-yard and 27-touchdown season. The former Detroit Lions OC has also maximized his rookie tight end, Colston Loveland, who came good against the Packers in the playoffs with 137 yards over eight receptions.

Now with the NFC Divisional round up ahead, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams, despite starting as favorites, will have their hands full as they travel to the Windy City and attempt to topple the red-hot Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.