The name Clyde Christensen is not what you’d call a household one among NFL fans. Most probably haven’t heard of him. That is a shame because he carved out a quarter-century career in the league. During that time, he won two Super Bowls as an assistant. His calling card was that of a quarterback whisperer of sorts. Across his decades-long run, he helped Peyton Manning win his final MVP in Indianapolis, oversaw the development of Andrew Luck, earned a playoff berth with Ryan Tannehill in Miami, and oversaw 5,000 passing yards from Jameis Winston and Tom Brady’s 7th Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. Amidst all of that, he became a trusted mentor to a young coach named Ben Johnson.
The Chicago Bears‘ head coach hasn’t been shy in stating how much he respects Christensen. Nobody taught him more about how to teach offensive football, especially the quarterback position. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Johnson invited his friend and colleague to a Bears practice in August. Rather than just being a spectator, though, Christensen felt the need to speak up. He noticed something wrong with Johnson’s approach to quarterback Caleb Williams almost immediately. Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic learned the details.
Ben Johnson wasn’t harping enough on accuracy.
A veteran coach with 47 years of experience, Christensen noticed something during Ben Johnson’s practice. The Chicago Bears’ head coach wasn’t talking about ball placement enough during routes on air — when quarterbacks throw to pass catchers without a defense.
“He was on me,” Johnson told The Athletic in August. “I mean, he was really critical of me.”
During organized team activities in May, Christensen told Johnson, “Ben, you aren’t bringing it up as much as you need to, either. It needs to be every single throw that you guys are watching on tape. … You have to embody that.”
“I don’t think that I helped in any way other than just to just remind him, ‘Hey, you get what you emphasize,’” Christensen told The Athletic this week. “‘You want an accurate quarterback, emphasize it.’”
Christensen is delivering some Bill Walsh knowledge to Ben Johnson.
Among the many things that made the late Hall of Fame head coach of the San Francisco 49ers so great was how specific he was about the details. He was notorious among his quarterbacks for being very particular about what he wanted. There was one practice where Joe Montana threw a deep pass that the wide receiver caught just over his left shoulder pad. An assistant coach called it a good throw. Walsh immediately interjected, saying it was not a good throw. He wanted the ball six inches in front of the receiver every time. The goal was to ensure they caught it without losing any speed.
It seems like such a trivial correction, but it’s what Walsh wanted. You can’t argue with the approach. Montana’s accuracy was devastating down the field throughout most of his career in San Francisco. It sounds like Christensen was conveying the same message. If Ben Johnson wants the proper results from his quarterbacks, he must stay on them about it every single day. That is the only way it will sink in.
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The results speak for themselves. Williams went 21-of-29 against Carolina (72.4%) with four of those incompletions being classified as throwaways. In other words, when the Bears quarterback turned it loose, it was almost always on the button.
Johnson deserves credit here.
Yes, he made the mistake of being somewhat lax in his emphasis on accuracy with Williams. However, when Christensen pointed it out, the Bears’ head coach didn’t let his ego get in the way. He listened to the advice and made the necessary adjustments. Sunday marked only the second time since 2024 that Williams has crossed the 70% threshold. After all the talk about his completion percentage last year, this is a great sign. Talent was never the question with his arm. It was control.
Williams is looking more and more like another Josh Allen. Not in terms of style but more in terms of defying NFL convention. It turns out that with proper work, you can cut down the number of sacks you take and improve your overall accuracy. Maybe it just comes down to coaches not putting enough emphasis on those things when the problems came up. It makes you wonder why Christensen isn’t in the NFL somewhere. His knowledge can be valuable to somebody.
