Caleb Williams was driving on the highway Monday when he received a call.
Four members of the Chicago Bears were calling to tell the 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick the news he wanted to hear: They were hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
“I don’t know if it was safe or not,” Williams said Wednesday, “but I let out a big whoop and whoop of excitement.”
The distractions on the road only intensified when his head coach FaceTimed him.
Perhaps it was fitting that Johnson called while his quarterback was running routes. Because for the years to come – Williams is hoping for “19, 17, 15 years,” he said recently – Johnson and Williams will be traveling the NFL roads together.
This partnership is no small part of the Bears’ success, attracting arguably the most coveted candidate this NFL head coaching cycle to a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season.
“There’s no doubt that Caleb played a big role in my decision,” Johnson said Wednesday during his introductory news conference at Halas Hall. “He is a phenomenal talent who, like many quarterbacks, had a rocky rookie year.
“I’m really looking forward to challenging him.”
Johnson said he believes the Bears’ team potential far exceeds the 5-12 record it established this season as its three NFC North rivals advanced to the playoffs.
“At the beginning of this season, I felt like this place was a sleeping giant,” Johnson said. “To be honest with you, personally, I was more concerned about the Chicago Bears than anyone in this division. Now, there are a number of reasons why that didn’t happen, and that’s why I’m here.
As Johnson aims to elevate the Bears from “sleeping” to “giants,” he outlined his vision and expectations for players, ranging from a responsibility that won’t hesitate to call players to an expectation of work ethic that will require late nights.
Johnson knows his predecessors, from NFL coordinator to head coach, have a long history of failure. But he believes the failures he’s already experienced in the NFL will help him discern the best next steps.
“I don’t necessarily come from a program that has only won in the last 10 years,” Johnson said. “What I’ve seen in my time in the NFL, in seven years in Miami, six years in Detroit, is not as good as I’ve seen good.
“So there are a number of things that I’ve experienced and seen that should help raise the alarm and make those initial decisions.”
How did the Bears land such a coveted candidate as Johnson?
The timeline of the Bears-Johnson marriage seemed suspect when the news broke Monday afternoon.
Of course, the Bears announced Saturday, Jan. 11, that they had conducted a virtual interview with Johnson as they met with 17 candidates. But Johnson was not among the candidates with whom they met in person Monday afternoon, in the 40 hours since his Lions lost, 45-31, to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
For a team that went through head coaches and coordinators at an alarming rate (think: three offensive coordinators in Williams’ rookie year alone), were the Bears setting themselves up for success?
Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles insisted during Wednesday’s news conferences that they had their roster figured out. The Bears did enough work, they said, to move quickly once their preferred candidate was available.
“There’s a lot of crossover with people we’re very close to,” Poles said. “We actually found out he was working in a small office like I did when I was at Boston College just a year later, which is kind of crazy to think about. But yeah, a lot of our friends, a lot of people that we trust have connected us both.
“And then when we answered the call and hung out, there was just a great vibe.”
Johnson has received interest from several teams, including the Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Raiders possess the most suspect path to a franchise quarterback, with only the sixth overall pick in a weak quarterback draft, coupled with no solid options in the building.
The Jaguars have 2021 first overall pick Trevor Lawrence at quarterback – but not only has he already signed a mega-deal that eats up salary cap space, Lawrence is surrounded by a questionable roster of talents.
In Chicago, Johnson saw a hyper-talented quarterback with a team-friendly contract around whom he was eager to build a system from the “Studs.” The Bears’ last five attacks and their last attack did not faze the creative player.
“Look, it’s clear that modern football in the NFL is focused on quarterbacks,” Johnson said. for over 20 years.
“Where I see my role is that of support. This offense will be calibrated with him in mind.
Before his introduction on Wednesday, Johnson had already discussed with Williams areas of growth in terms of scheme and technique for the quarterback. He made it clear that the duo needed to spend enough time together to streamline their visions.
“The playmaker and the quarterback have to be integrated,” Johnson said. “The quarterback must be able to see the game through the eyes of the person playing him. In my opinion, that’s the only way it works.
Williams was excited to hear that, saying last week that his two main wishes for his next head coach were an offensive mind he could grow with and a coach whose fire and intensity could match that of the quarterback.
In Johnson, Williams sees “the competitiveness in his eyes – the fire in his eyes.”
The duo doesn’t just aspire to win matches. They want to dominate their opponents.
“We sat down and talked and had the same mindset about the score and all these different things,” Williams said. “Sportsmanship is at the end of the game when you shake hands and are respectful that way. But when you’re on the football field, you want other teams to feel like you’ve embarrassed them.
“Score an insane amount of points.”
With Williams at center, Johnson can get creative
Johnson’s creative wrinkles, like the tripping play he executed successfully against the Bears, are well-documented from his tenure with the Lions.
The data also resoundingly confirmed his productivity: The Lions ranked top-five in offense and total offense each of Johnson’s three years as offensive coordinator.
In 2024, Detroit has leveraged the best and second-best offense overall to reach a 15-2 record and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
His disappointing defeat against Washington did not erase three years of proven results.
Johnson shed light on his philosophy as he looks to improve the league’s second-worst offense.
He explained his belief that his offenses should “make the same things look different and different things look the same.”
“We believe in multiplicity, both educationally and conceptually,” Johnson said. “We want to have the ability to convert, whether it’s 50 points in a game or 50 assists in a game. It doesn’t matter. For me, the balance is played out throughout the season, not necessarily in the game.
“We want the defense to be after them.”
Johnson rejected the desire of Commanders and others to hire him last year, citing skepticism about his suitors’ paths to victory and a desire to better prepare to handle all phases of the team once that he will have taken over. After spending more time last summer preparing his vision and after he and his agent researched the Bears, he said he reached a comfort point on both fronts.
“I talked about roster last year when I came back to Detroit, and that was really important to me: seeing that the structure was conducive to winning,” Johnson said. “All of these questions were answered throughout the interview process.”
Bears fans began showing how they would react to the hire before it was even finalized.
Recently, while dining at a restaurant, team president Kevin Warren received a drink from a Bears fan with a note. The message: “Please hire Ben Johnson. »
He saved it and put it in his drawer.
“I watched it this morning,” Warren said. “I’m going to give it to Ben and hope that if we do what we’re supposed to do, one day this note will be framed on [a] wall.”
