New head coach Ben Johnson had quite the audience for his introductory press conference at Halas Hall last Wednesday, from local media members to national reporters to Bears executives and staff members.

In the front row of the crowd to Johnson's left were four familiar faces — a group he was used to seeing across a sideline at Soldier Field or Ford Field. This time, quarterback Caleb Williams, receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze as well as tight end Cole Kmet were face-to-face with Johnson as supporters of the new coach rather than opponents.

Each of the four Bears playmakers put their offseason on hold last week to travel back to Halas Hall, which included Williams flying in from Florida and Moore coming from a family vacation to Disneyland.

The opportunity to meet Johnson for the first time, hear his first official message to the team and begin fostering a connection was too important to miss.

"We've played versus each other in a way, and him seeing us on the field and all the talent we have here I think brings excitement to him — that includes myself," Williams told reporters. "Showing up today was a start and it shows you what type of guys we have here.

"Something he's excited about, and something he talked about, is the family aspect of it. Being able to grow that aspect, being able to come closer, become tougher on each other and then when we get on the field, we show that."

Kmet, who remains local in the offseason, was "fired up" when he heard of Johnson's hiring earlier in the week and wanted to attend his presser knowing, "it was obviously a big moment for the organization."

Johnson and his family met the group of players in attendance prior to his press conference, allowing them to share a separate moment.

"It was great," Kmet told ChicagoBears.com. "He obviously exudes a lot of confidence and excitement for what's to come. He understands and we all understand that there's a lot of work we have to put in this offseason in OTAs and in camp before we get to our first game.

"But I'm definitely excited about the opportunity to work with him considering what he's done in Detroit — obviously having the type of offense and prolificness that he's had the past few seasons which has led to a big amount of their success."

Through his five NFL seasons in Chicago, Kmet witnessed how Johnson transformed the Lions offense in his three seasons as their offensive coordinator. The tight end was especially impressed with their offense's ability to "beat you in a multitude of ways."

What also stood out to Kmet was how Johnson utilized all of Detroit's offensive weapons and found ways to "really get the best out of all of them."

In his introductory press conference, Johnson highlighted that leadership by directing a message at the entire Bears roster regarding his intent to challenge and push but also support the players.

"That message was pretty cool," Kmet said. "Obviously, he's setting the expectation for what we gotta do this upcoming year. I know that guys are excited to get to work and uphold that standard that he's going to bring in."

While Kmet has watched Johnson's offense from the sideline the past few years, Bears defenders like cornerback Jaylon Johnson have gone head-to-head with it.

From Jaylon's perspective, the Lions offense posed challenges with their well-rounded run game as well as the constant presence of Johnson's trick plays.

"You always knew that you had to get ready for some unorthodox things, whether it was trick plays or ways that they schemed up certain things that we had got beat on in the past," Jaylon told ChicagoBears.com. "He definitely was smart in that way. Overall, I would say the creativity, the sound fundamentals that they played with in their running game and then being able to marry their passing game with it. It made a lot of things look the same — a lot of shifts, motions — to get the defense off."

While Jaylon has been gearing up for his second Pro Bowl appearance, he was excited to hear the news of Johnson's hiring come through last week. The five-year pro is eager to build a relationship with the new coach and see how he brings his expertise to Williams and the Bears offense.

"I'm happy that he's here, because, shoot, I know going against him, we were definitely trying to figure his offense out," Johnson said. "We always had a lot of respect for him and the things that he was able to do in Detroit. I'm definitely happy to get a guy like that on our side."