Ben Johnson doesn’t proclaim himself to be the greatest expert on coaching. All he knows is what he’s experienced across more than a decade in the NFL. In that time, he worked with several head coaches. Some were successful and others were flameouts. Johnson tried learning the lesson of what went right and what went wrong, especially in regard to handling the quarterback. He knew his job would center around that relationship. Not every player is the same, but it didn’t take long to understand there was a universal way not to do it.
The head coach was asked about his relationship with Caleb Williams and how he wants to approach it moving forward. Johnson painted a crystal clear picture. He is here to support the young quarterback with every tool at his disposal as a coach. However, he is not Williams’ friend. His job is to push the quarterback to be the best possible player he can be. Sometimes that will require a firm hand of discipline and a willingness to tell the truth, even if Williams doesn’t always want to hear it.
The long speech offered proof of how much Johnson has thought about this.
“That’s coaching in general. We’re not called to be here to be friends or cheerleaders. We’re here to push, to challenge, to support. There are a number of things the best coaches in my life have really imprinted on me. And whether I was a player or a fellow coach, I really think that’s important.
It’s not what the player wants to hear all the time. Sometimes it’s what he needs to hear for us as a team to succeed and for him as an individual to get a little bit better. And you can’t shy away from that.
At this level, the best coaches I’ve been around, I think it’s an art. They’re the demanding ones where there’s a way or there’s a vision for how a play needs to go or a vision for how a fundamental needs to be executed. And you really – you don’t waver from that belief. And you make sure we’re getting it right.
I try the best I can to emulate the good ones I’ve been around. And I think that’s probably where I’ve seen some downfalls of certain coaches — they have been afraid of conflict and telling a player how he sees it. I learned over the last few years that when there’s silence, there’s usually negativity [that] fills that void and breeds some resentment either way in a relationship. So if you feel a certain type of way – doesn’t matter if you’re the player or the coach – you need to bring that out and make sure we’re all on the same page.
We all have the same goal at the end of the day. But I’ve seen some relationships go sideways just because the communication aspect wasn’t right.”
Ben Johnson continues to show remarkable wisdom for his age.
Remember, he’s only 39. Coaches often take longer to understand the need for truth in their communication with players. Constantly making them feel good or bad means nothing if they aren’t executing plays correctly. These are the problems Matt Nagy ran into. His relentless optimism and positive nature were great for the locker room, but soon fell on deaf ears once the mistakes began mounting. It became clear he didn’t have a firm enough grip on the player, and eventually they tuned him out. Ben Johnson knows the only way for him to maintain their respect is by giving them the truth, regardless of whether they like it or not.
This was often the case for most of the greatest coaches in NFL history: Lombardi, Noll, Walsh, Johnson, Shanahan, Belichick, and Reid. They didn’t worry about whether players liked them. It had to be about whether they did their jobs. Johnson seems wired the same way.
