When taking over as Chicago Bears head coach, Ben Johnson knew what his top priority was. He had to clean up the damage done by the previous staff to quarterback Caleb Williams. Then he had to figure out how to turn the former #1 pick into a viable franchise-caliber player. Not an easy task. There was so much to clean up. Williams’ footwork was all over the place. His pre-snap process was flawed. Overall efficiency, like completion percentage, had to improve. However, it didn’t take long to recognize the biggest problem.

Catastrophic plays.

These are described as either throwing an interception or taking a sack during a drive. According to analytics expert Warren Sharp, Williams was one of the worst in the NFL at doing one of those two things. As a rookie, he took a sack or threw an interception on 12% of his dropbacks. For those wondering at home, that is 82 dropbacks. It was even worse when he was pressured. If this project had any prayer of working, Johnson knew he had to cut that percentage down.

The result? Williams sat at 5% in 2025, reducing the sacks and interceptions on dropbacks by almost two-thirds. Just 37 dropbacks.

Ben Johnson pulled off what looks like a miracle.

The interceptions were never the big issue. Williams was pretty good at avoiding them even as a rookie. It was the sacks that were killing the team. He took 68 that first year, nearly challenging the NFL record for a single season. Williams had a terrible habit of holding the ball too long, inviting pressure to find him. This was made worse by his tendency to freeze up at times when he wasn’t seeing the field well. That led to sack after sack. Johnson had to find a way to mitigate that problem.

This came through some significant changes to the quarterback’s process. The Bears abandoned the shotgun-heavy system they implemented in 2024 in favor of a more under-center approach. They grilled him constantly on pre-snap recognition, knowing where every receiver should be, what protections to call, and where the ball should go. While that was happening, Johnson shifted the offense to a run-heavy attack with lots of play action and pre-snap motion. This would not allow defenses to pin their ears back, always guessing at what the Bears were doing.

The results were exceptional.

Williams was only sacked 24 times and was under double-digit interceptions again. Critics marveled at how much better he’d gotten at avoiding pressure. Another important stat also went overlooked. Williams led the entire NFL in throwaways with 40. These were plays where he couldn’t find an open man and, rather than take a sack or risk an interception, he either threw it in the dirt or out of bounds. He was always cognizant of not putting the Bears in difficult positions whenever possible.

This may not have drastically impacted his overall stat line, but it did improve the effectiveness of the offense. They finished 9th in points scored and 6th in total yards. It marked the first time the Bears had ranked in the top 10 in both categories in 12 years. Ben Johnson made it all possible by recognizing where Williams had to improve first. Before thinking about attacking defenses, the head coach had to make sure the quarterback wasn’t actively hurting the offense. With that done, now the real fun can begin.

The Chicago Bears went to the playoffs last season, winning 11 games along the way. They were top 10 in scoring and total yards while leading the league in takeaways. One would think the team is fine with the status quo going into 2026, particularly on the coaching front. That isn’t necessarily true. Head coach Ben Johnson made it clear multiple times over the spring that he and the staff need to coach better. Many issues last season went unaddressed. Issues that came back to bite them in the playoffs.

This is not to say Johnson is planning a wholesale purge if the Bears don’t win the Super Bowl this year. Nobody does that. That said, it does feel like there could be a minor shakeup if many of those same issues keep popping up throughout the 2026 season. This isn’t a head coach who is satisfied with using lack of talent as a crutch whenever things don’t go as hoped. Coaching matters too. Johnson holds everybody accountable. So who among his staff is in the most danger?

Multiple Chicago Bears assistants need to step up.

Mild: Wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El

It may seem shocking that Randle El is mentioned here. He was the prized name Johnson managed to pry away from Detroit when he came over to Chicago. There is no way they’d dismiss him, right? Probably not. However, it must be mentioned that Johnson was not happy with the wide receivers last year. Their inconsistency was a constant sore spot for the team, from poor route discipline to an appalling number of dropped passes. The head coach vowed things would be better this year. That responsibility falls at the feet of Randle El. If those same struggles continue, would Johnson look to send a message? It can’t be ruled out.

Warm: Linebackers coach Richard Smith

Not enough people talk about how disappointing the Chicago Bears’ run defense was last season. They were 27th in the NFL. It was a constant headache trying to slow down opponents with good rushing attacks. Part of that was not enough contribution from the linebackers. Health issues were involved. T.J. Edwards was never on the field consistently, but it was also clear the group wasn’t disciplined enough. Smith has been around football for decades. He’s coached linebackers for 12 different teams. At 70 years old, it’s fair to wonder if he still has the edge necessary to stay on guys about their fundamentals and discipline.

Hot: Defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett

Garrett controls the most important unit on the Bears’ defense. Getting after the quarterback is priority #1 for every front. Garrett’s group didn’t do that well enough last season. Just 31.5 sacks in 17 games. You aren’t beating good quarterbacks in the playoffs with numbers like that. Garrett is among the most inexperienced of the team’s assistants, having only spent one year as a defensive line coach in the NFL before coming to Chicago. That lack of track record meant the hire was a gamble.

Chicago wasn’t going to fire him after one season. However, the pressure is entirely on him now. The Bears didn’t make any significant moves to upgrade their personnel this offseason. Just a few minor free agents and a 6th round pick. That means it falls to Garrett to get a group that the top brass feels is good enough playing up to its potential. If they don’t, there is a very real chance he gets replaced next year. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has never been afraid to shake up his staff.

Mike Singletary has been around the game of football for a long time, first as a Hall of Fame player and then as a well-traveled coach. He’s gone against some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and watched even more of them. This is a man who played against Joe Montana and John Elway, then coached against Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. So he has a pretty good idea of what the best ones look like. From his perspective, there is no debate who owns the crown in today’s NFL. That is Patrick Mahomes.

During an interview with Kay Adams on Up And Adams, he was asked who the best is. It was half-wondered whether he might say Caleb Williams, considering Singletary is a Chicago Bears legend. He didn’t, but did make sure to point out that Williams is more like Mahomes than people think.

“Hands down, I’m going to take Patrick Mahomes every day of the week. But Caleb Williams is in that mix.

Why Patrick? Because Patrick is a leader. I see a lot in the young kid in Chicago, I see a lot of Patrick Mahomes in him. He may not want to hear that, but that’s OK. I like that, too.”

If they’re so alike, what separates the two that makes Mahomes the superior player? It isn’t arm strength, accuracy, or intelligence. For Singletary, it has everything to do with charisma.

“When Patrick gets in the huddle, they listen. When things are down, they listen. When he’s speaking to a player on the sideline, when he’s talking to a guy in the huddle, they’re listening. To me, that’s respect.”

Mike Singletary should take note of last season.

Everybody wants to talk about the physical feats from last season. There were many. Williams had some of the most absurd throws you’ll ever see by an NFL quarterback, and all of them came late in games when the Bears were trailing. Seven 4th quarter comebacks don’t happen if your quarterback doesn’t have the ability to communicate with his guys in the huddle. Teammates repeatedly said last year that Williams was the reason they were able to stay calm in crunch time and continued executing. That is the leadership Singletary mentions.

There was evidence that he’d grown more vocal with teammates as the season went on as well. The one that stood out the most came in the playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. Wide receiver Luther Burden seemed to run the wrong route on a 4th down play, leading to Williams throwing an interception. Once the quarterback got back to the sideline, he turned to Burden and screamed at him to do his job. It was a moment where a leader must hold his teammate accountable for a mistake. That was not something Williams could let slide, not in a game with that high of stakes. Mike Singletary would’ve done the same thing.

Williams understands his role.

That is one thing you can say definitively about the Bears’ quarterback. He’s never shrunken from the pressure or responsibility that comes with being a franchise quarterback. It demands sacrifices. That means putting in tons of work to master an offense while also serving as a team leader. There is a reason only a handful of guys can play the position at a high level. Jay Cutler had the talent to excel in the NFL. He never fully accepted the role of leadership, preferring to run with his select group of teammates. It was a big reason why the Bears eventually fell apart in the mid-2010s.

Singletary will probably see more of his old teammate, Jim McMahon, in Williams. Playing styles aside, the former Bears quarterback was known for his ferocious competitiveness, toughness, charisma, and unwavering self-confidence. All you have to do is watch and listen to Williams for ten minutes, and you’ll get the same vibes. If you pair McMahon’s leadership with Mahomes’ talent, you may have something special on your hands. He may not have all the achievements Patrick does yet, but all the pieces are there.

The Chicago Bears have stubbornly stuck to their original stance. Despite concerns about their lack of consistent production at the edge rush position last season, the team opted to do nothing in free agency or the draft to address it. Part of it was because they didn’t have much money to spend and got some bad luck in the draft. However, their lack of urgency was pretty telling. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson both said they feel the team has enough talent at the position. What they must do is coach better. All the while, serious options like Cameron Jordan remained available on the market.

Not anymore. News broke this week that the long-time Pro Bowler is returning to the New Orleans Saints on a one-year deal. He believes this will likely be his final year, making him one of the very few players in modern history to play his Hall of Fame career with one franchise. It’s hard to tell if this was always the plan or if he didn’t have a strong enough market to convince him leaving the only team he’s known was worth it. Either way, this removes any realistic option for the Bears to improve their edge rush from the outside.

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan will end his career in New Orleans after signing a one-year deal during the team’s minicamp Tuesday.

Jordan’s 16th NFL season likely will be his last, according to a video he posted on social media that highlighted his return. The end of the video had the tagline: “One final season.”

“I’m going to treat it like it’s the final season with intention because I believe between God and my wife, that’s the only two people that can get me back through,” Jordan said.

Cameron Jordan exit leaves Bears with few options.

As proven assets go, he was the only one left without many questions aside from obviously being in his late 30s. Joey Bosa played the healthiest season he has had in years in 2025, but only managed five sacks. He might be out of gas. Haason Reddick and Bryce Huff are both undersized for Dennis Allen’s preferred edge archetype. Von Miller is possible since he played for Allen as a rookie in 2011. Then again, he’s 37 and a part-time player at this stage of his career.

That leaves Jadeveon Clowney, who does fit the measurables Chicago likes. Unfortunately, he also has a long history of injury problems. He had 8.5 sacks last season, but missed four games. There is a reason he’s played for six different teams since 2019. At 33 years old, there is no telling what you’ll get from Clowney because his production seems to fluctuate from year to year. That isn’t the type of player one throws money at unless you’re certain a Super Bowl is really close.

All the pressure falls on Austin Booker now.

The Bears have said that they wish to give Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner another opportunity to build on what they showed last season. That may sound nice, but the truth is neither played overly well before suffering season-ending injuries. Odeyingbo is now coming off a torn Achilles, while Turner still hasn’t returned to practice from his torn ACL. Those two are unlikely to be a major factor this season, at least early on. That puts all of the pressure, no pun intended, on Booker.

He did have a strong finish to last season, posting 4.5 sacks in his final six games. What isn’t known is whether he can sustain that for a full year. Booker missed half of last season with a knee injury. He’s still kind of a mystery. Adding Cameron Jordan would’ve at least provided the Bears with some insurance. Now they’ve backed themselves into a corner. The only way out is either Booker breaking out or pivoting to a possible trade at the deadline in October.