The Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson for his obvious qualifications as an offensive mastermind. They felt that if anybody could help develop Caleb Williams into a good quarterback, it would be him. So far, the results have been mixed. Williams has looked considerably better pre-snap, has lowered his sack percentage, and shows good signs playing from the pocket. Unfortunately, the production hasn’t been there. The offense still struggles with penalties, can’t score in the red zone, and continues to struggle with finding a rhythm.
Some have wondered about the relationship between the quarterback and the head coach. Johnson has remained firmly behind Williams, stating he sees considerable progress. Granted, he’s still hard on the quarterback, holding him accountable when mistakes are made. In these situations, you can often tell a lot about a relationship from how people close to one of those involved talk about the other. Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated spoke to two Williams confidants.
Both had interesting things to say about Johnson.
One person who knows Williams well points to the “little signs” of progress: more buy-in, more check-downs taken, improved diagnosing of defenses, and, for individual plays or drives but not consistently, glimpses of the greatness long expected from him. Now, this person says, the quarterback with elite talent is married to an elite coach.
For better, like all marriages, and for worse. “It’s not going to happen overnight,” this person says. “Just because you paint your fingernails red doesn’t mean you don’t have drive, tenacity, creativity and f—ing talent—or that you don’t want to be great. The bottom line is: The difference-maker is great coaching.”
Speaking specifically of Johnson’s tenure with Goff in Detroit, this person adds, “What drove [him] to succeed with Goff was to prove people wrong, when no one [else] believed. And it’s no different than what’s driving him now.”
This makes sense.
Johnson knows the Bears have an ugly history at quarterback. He also knows Williams is under immense pressure to perform as the #1 pick from his draft class. Such things would motivate a competitor like him.
One Williams confidant sees two realities. Neither is exactly bountiful, at present, but the difference is immense. “This is people trying to not take accountability and blame [him]. You have to marry the right coach with the right player [for the] magic to happen.”
This confidant assesses the calculus, he hopes, for better days ahead. “Ben may be flexing on people and that s—, but he’s gonna figure out how to get that kid playing at a high level. And they’ll be the last ones laughing.”
It certainly appears that Caleb Williams’ people understand what Johnson is doing.
This is a 180 from last year, when the anonymous comments about the coaching staff were brutal. Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron were both criticized for not knowing what they were doing. Johnson’s approach is far different. He is on top of everything Caleb Williams does. There are no shortcuts. He won’t dial back the offense just because it’s difficult. If Williams wants to be great, he has to master the system. That means working hard to get better each week.
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By all accounts, Williams is doing that. He’s putting in extra time every day. You can see glimpses of things slowing down. It isn’t there yet. Typically, it takes at least a full season before the truly positive signs appear. That might not be on the timeline Bears fans wanted, but it sounds like Williams has bought in.
