‘We got a d*mn good head coach’: Hightower lauds Johnson as Bears prep for joint practice, first preseason game against Dolphins

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — With nearly two weeks of padded practices under their belt, the Chicago Bears started prepping to go full tilt against players they don’t share a locker room with Monday.

EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo was one of the Bears who expressed excitement for the team’s first joint practice against the Miami Dolphins, which is scheduled to take place Friday.

“They can be a little chippy. That can be intense. You’re defending your home turf, especially in this situation,” Odeyingbo said. “Everyone is excited to get going against someone else, someone you’re not trying to look out for because it’s not your teammate.”

Joint practices are an opportunity for players to bring their A-game, but also for coaches to better assess their rosters.

And according to special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, who worked under Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel before coming to Chicago, he can see a lot of similarities between Ben Johnson and McDaniel.

“I knew from afar when I watched some of [Johnson’s] press conferences or some of that stuff, the guy’s pretty sharp,” Hightower said. “When you work with him and you can see the attention to detail and how he meticulously looks at everything, no matter what it is, [he] dives deep into things. He has an eye – real head coaches have an eye for things when they happen.

“I’m telling you for a fact. We have a d*mn good head coach here. A d*mn good head coach. I’m just telling you. I know what they look like. I’ve been around them.”

The Bears’ first preseason game takes place Sunday at noon against the Dolphins at Soldier Field.