How High Can Ben Johnson Elevate Caleb Williams?
After an extremely bumpy rookie season where quarterback Caleb Williams went through two head coaches, two play callers, and three offensive coordinators, the Chicago Bears finally pulled the trigger and hired Ben Johnson to be their head coach to help Williams for years to come. A couple of days later, Williams sat in the front row for Johnson’s introductory press conference alongside wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, as well as tight end Cole Kmet. They listened to the message that Johnson was sending to all the Bears players for what’s ahead. When general manager Ryan Poles introduced Johnson, he praised him for, “his passion, his leadership, his football IQ, and his vision for winning football.”
The Bears hope that those qualities will have an influence and bring out the best in Caleb Williams. Johnson plans to use his creativity and vision to tailor an offense around Williams, which includes knowing how to demand accountability and using discipline in his leadership. At the end of the 2024 season, Williams said he wanted the Bears to hire a coach that would challenge him. Two days after he was hired, Johnson had already spoken to Williams about how he plans to support him and hold him accountable. Even Ryan Poles said, “he is going to be challenged to be a professional football player, to do the little things the right way.” Johnson wants to get the foundation started off strong because they’re going to have to build everything up from there.
After leading a top-five offense in Detroit during his three seasons as offensive coordinator, Johnson was one of the top candidates in the NFL for the hiring cycle and had other interested teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Johnson concluded that the job was for him because of the city of Chicago as well as, “the people, point blank.” He also believes that the roster is “stocked” with talent and he’s excited to work with Poles, but more importantly, Caleb Willians. Johnson even said with a smile on his face, “having a quarterback helps.” Johnson applauded Williams for his ability to fit the ball into tight windows, his fearlessness, and his confidence in throwing the ball.
The Bears are already starting to work on a plan to work with Williams’ weaknesses and improve them, which the two, Johnson and Williams, had already discussed. Johnson wants Caleb to be able to see the game through his eyes as the playcaller. Williams says that what Johnson is doing for him reminds him of what his USC coach, Lincoln Riley, did for him in his college offense. Even before Johnson was hired, Caleb had already admired the work he did for the Lions prior and couldn’t be more excited to get started. “You can see that competitiveness in his eyes,” Williams said. “The fire in his eyes. It was really cool seeing that.”
