Ben Johnson has some plans for Caleb Williams. Most first-year head coaches don’t step into situations that offer as much upside as Chicago. Johnson, though, will arguably be working with a more talented signal-caller in the Windy City (Caleb Williams) than he did for the past three years in the Motor City (Jared Goff).
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Johnson played a huge role in Goff reaching his potential. He’s confident he can help Williams do the same. How so? By using the same script the Detroit Lions deployed for Goff. He confirmed as much during The Rich Eisen Show on Friday.
“We’ll take the same track and mindset that we had with Jared [Goff]… we’re gonna build this thing around him. The offense, conceptually, schematically.. the rest of the unit… [we’re gonna build it all] with him in mind. We’re gonna accentuate his strengths and make sure that we’re working to improve his weaknesses… we’ll have a great detailed plan.”
Johnson admitted it would “take some time” for he and Williams to “establish trust.” Once they do, though, he thinks they’ll be off and running.
Caleb Williams boasts a different skill set than Jared Goff. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft was known for dominating out of structure in college. The same has never been the case for Goff, who thrives when operating with rhythm from the pocket.
Goff’s strengths, conveniently, are Williams’ weaknesses. There may be nobody better than Johnson to help him discover how to play efficiently inside an offensive system. Johnson intends to aid Williams’ growth in this aspect without limiting his innate playmaking traits.
“There’s no question that one of his superpowers is his ability to create and extend plays. And that’s not something we want to take away from him. We’re gonna encourage that within structure… in terms of structure of progressions, it’s hard to say without truly sitting down and watching tape with him to know where his starting point is.”
Johnson claimed Williams “wants to be coached hard.” He also acknowledged Williams adapting to his system “will be a different experience” than he had in college or the NFL. Despite the certain challenges and growing pains ahead, he’s eager to work with someone of Williams’ caliber.
“We’ll see how far we can push the envelope with him. That’s the fun part about coaching, is you get a young player that’s really just a lump of clay here, but full of potential and see if we can’t make something beautiful out of this.”
When Eisen asked Johnson what “coaching someone hard” looks like, Johnson essentially gave wedding vows to Williams. He told Eisen it’s “telling the truth and always being honest.”
If Williams can reciprocate, he and Johnson could maintain a happy marriage in Chicago – and gift winning football to their “children” (the Bears’ fanbase) – for a long time.
