Caleb Williams’ relationship with the Chicago Bears didn’t start the way most people expected. This week, it was revealed that the quarterback and his father even considered skipping the NFL Draft altogether to avoid being selected by the Bears. On the field, the chemistry between Williams and the coaching staff never clicked, ultimately leading to a breakdown in the relationship and a new regime taking over for 2025.
Ben Johnson, former offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, takes over as the Bears’ new head coach in an effort to mend the relationship before Chicago loses yet another quarterback prospect. Former NFL quarterback and current analyst Dan Orlovsky weighed in, highlighting how Johnson’s arrival could be a turning point for Williams, helping guide the young QB in the right direction and unlocking his full potential.
Can Ben Johnson Take Caleb Williams to the Next Level?
Johnson’s Detroit Lions offense stole the spotlight over the past two seasons with a creative and highly efficient system that revitalized Jared Goff’s career and turned a long-overlooked franchise into a serious contender. By the end of the season, it was widely expected that Johnson would be one of the top candidates in the new head coaching cycle — and that’s exactly what happened.
Chicago placed its bet on Ben Johnson to bring those modern offensive concepts to the franchise’s ecosystem, capitalizing on the fact that it had just drafted one of the most highly touted quarterback prospects in recent years. Despite the rocky start, Williams’s rookie season still showed flashes of his potential.
In an interview with Doug Farrar, Orlovsky discussed how Johnson could have a major impact on Williams’ career, emphasizing how much of a difference the right coach can make in a quarterback’s development in the NFL.
“I think he’s gonna give him an understanding of what the defense is doing, why it’s doing it and how you’re going to counter that defensive set, and a much greater understanding,” Orlosvky said. “There’s such a difference as a quarterback from being in an offense that calls plays to being in an offense that calls games.”
The former quarterback explains that on every play, there’s an initial schematic winner based on which play each team calls, and sometimes, the defense has the upper hand. In those situations, it’s up to the playcaller to provide answers for the quarterback, helping him understand what to read on the field depending on the scenario. That’s the difference between calling plays and calling games.
The Bears’ offense in 2025 was one of the worst in the NFL, ranking 30th in the PFSN Offense+ Metric, largely due to the coaching staff, then led by Matt Eberflus and, on the offensive side, Shane Waldron. Waldron was fired after Week 9, and Eberflus was let go shortly after.
The hope now is that Johnson brings a more modern NFL mindset and works closely with Williams to shape him into a true NFL quarterback — one who blends athletic ability with field awareness and processing, becoming one of the league’s best, which was always a possibility given the expectations when he left college as the first overall pick in the Draft.
