LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — Six-and-a-half weeks into the Chicago Bears’ offseason workout program, Ben Johnson said his players are getting “bigger, faster, stronger,” but he also shared his thoughts on Chicago being a place some think quarterbacks go to die.
“I love it. I love it. I love the opportunity to come on in and change that narrative,” Johnson said. “That’s where great stories are written. And so, we’re looking to write a new chapter here. 2025 Chicago Bears. And [we’re] looking forward to the future.”
Johnson’s remarks were a part of a back-and-forth between him and the Chicago media after Caleb Williams was in the headlines over comments made last week by he and his father, Carl Williams, ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.
The comments, set to be a part of Seth Wickersham’s upcoming book, “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,” included Williams’ skepticism of being able to become the NFL quarterback he envisioned in Chicago, and his father claiming “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” a likely homage to former Bears wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who said Chicago is “where receivers go to die” during an interview in 2008.
Williams was notably absent from the media parade at Halas Hall Wednesday, but to Johnson’s credit, he chose to get out in front of the conundrum, something his predecessors rarely (if ever) chose to do.
“It’s come to my attention that the quarterback has been in the media over the last week,” Johnson said in his opening statement after day 2 of offseason OTA’s. “I just wanted to say I wasn’t here last year. So, I can’t speak too much in terms of what it was like before [Caleb Williams] got here and when he got here last year. But from my four months on the job, he’s been outstanding to work with, and we are just focusing on getting a little better every day.”
Johnson also revealed he had a conversation with Williams right after the story came out, and said the two are “looking forward to turning the page on years prior and focusing on the here and now.”
Turning the page on years prior includes turning the page on Williams watching film alone at times, without instruction or guidance from last years’ Bears coaching staff, as Wickersham talked about in the ESPN article on his book.
It was a topic covered Wednesday. In Johnson’s eyes, watching film varies from coach to coach. He said he’s a blend of the offensive coaches he’s worked with before, but one thing is for certain. He has a plan for how his quarterbacks watch film, and they’re humming away at putting it in place.
“Everyone’s different. I’ve been around a number of coordinators, a number of quarterbacks coaches, and so I would say my style, is kind of a combination of everything that I’ve been around and I’ve come to learn and love and appreciate,” Johnson said. There’s a process that I believe in as an offensive coaching staff, that we’re adhering to in the springtime.
“We’re going to stay true to that, how we’re going to develop that position in particular, and those guys are doing a great job of working hard right now.”
Working hard and being coached hard are two things that have gone hand in hand with players who have voiced their opinions on how they want Johnson and Co. to run the ship this year.
For months, players like Williams have said they want to be coached hard, and on Wednesday, those at Bears practice got their first taste of that. At one point during drills, Johnson could be seen calling out tight end Cole Kmet for being out of position, showing his fiery disposition.
Johnson was asked specifically about Williams being a proponent of that, which he views as being characteristic of someone who wants to be great.
“I think that the great ones, they want to be coached hard. That’s really the assumption we’re making with all of these guys,” Johnson said. “They’ve all, at one point in time, they’ve either come up to my office, or [Dennis Allen’s] office, or coach [Tim] Hightower’s. Often, they’ve all told us how much they want to be a good player, a good team. They want to be a part of greatness. So, we’re going to treat them as such, and part of that is coaching them hard.”
Not to say everything is sunshine and daffodils at Halas Hall right now, but that’s to be expected. Johnson has talked about how this part of the offseason is for basic installs where players are just starting to learn a new system, and are encouraged to make mistakes.
It’s also where he and his offensive coaching staff are starting to build relationships with their players, most notably Williams. Johnson said they are taking it one day at a time to develop the bond the team needs between him and their quarterback to get where they need to be.
“It starts with developing a rapport and a trust. That’s earned over time,” Johnson said. “You don’t walk in day one and expect that to be achieved. And so, the more time we spend together, he understands that I have his best interests at heart and vice versa. He’s going to go out there and play as well as he possibly can, not just for himself, for me, but for the whole team and the city.
“That’s really what it comes down to. So, we’re very much aligned in terms of what we want to get done. It just takes more time on task, in terms of getting on the same page with how we’re going to do it.”
Williams and the rest of the 2025 Bears have a month and a half together under their belts, and this week was the first opportunity for rookies to intermingle with vets on the roster. It’s a drop in the bucket when taken into consideration with the rest of the time commitment a year in the NFL entails.
Johnson hammered how “time on task” at this point involves building those relationships and getting to know players on a personal level. The more time they spend together doing that, the better he feels about the situation.
“We got a great coaching staff around [Williams] as well, with JT Barrett leading the charge,” Johnson said. “Declan [Doyle] is in the room. Press Taylor’s in the room. So, we’ve got some good, seasoned voices in there.
“Then you bring in a guy like Case Keenum. He does a great job with his experience, bridging the gap and finding any potholes that could be in there. I feel really good about the mix around them, and that allows the relationship to just naturally form.”