What Caleb Williams Said About Chicago Bears Coach Ben Johnson, Relationship

The relationship between a head coach and quarterback is the most important in sports.

Their careers are intertwined. It’s no surprise the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history had the greatest coaches by their sides. Tom Brady had Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots, Joe Montana had Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers and Patrick Mahomes has Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs.

For Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, he’s already on his second head coach in as many seasons. His first coach, Matt Eberflus, was fired the day after Thanksgiving, becoming the first coach in franchise history to be fired mid-season.

Chicago Bears Quarterback Caleb Williams Details Growing Relationship With Ben Johnson — Jul 24, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs with the ball during training camp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Bears have struggled to find the right quarterback and head coach combination. Since 2016, 12 different quarterbacks have started a game in Chicago, which makes sense why former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson became the Bears fifth head coach since then when he was hired in January.

Williams and Johnson are hoping to break the streak of unfortunate misfortunes that has plagued the franchise for the last decade. With training camp underway, the former USC Trojans signal-caller spoke about his relationship with Johnson.

"Obviously, we've only been together a couple months," Williams said. "Over the summer I would call him and check up on him, check up on his family, just talk. That's important to be able to build this bond and relationship. When we're here, I pop upstairs whenever I have some free time or whenever he texts me. Pop up there for an hour or so, 30 minutes. A lot of times we're not talking about anything football related, which is important to building the relationship.

"It's a really important relationship. It's been growing. It's been awesome. We're having fun, he gets on me and it's greatly appreciated that he does. Being tough on me and understanding that nobody's above anybody. All of us are one, and that that's how we're going to march this season."

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Johnson has been very demanding of his team, but in particular with the former Heisman Trophy winner. Johnson stresses every detail. He sent the Bears first team offense to the sideline on day one after they failed to get lined up properly.

Johnson had done something similar during OTA’s when he made the offense re-huddle.

"That's on par for Ben," said tight end Cole Kmet. "If you're not doing it right, he's gonna get you out, and he's not going to just see that stuff continue. It's just a lesson to us that you gotta be on the details. We gotta be on the details going into practice and we're going to get our reps in."

The pressure to get things rolling in the Windy City from the jump is immense. Chicago hired Johnson to turn Williams into the franchise quarterback the city is hoping for when they selected the 23-year-old signal-caller with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft.

So far, it’s been mixed reviews during the week of training camp. Williams has flashed the talent that made him must-see TV in college, but the offense had a rough showing on Friday during red zone drills. He went a combined 2-for-11 with two interceptions between 7-on-7 and full team periods.

New defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has made life extremely difficult on Williams and the Bears offense. It’s still early in camp and there’s no reason to panic in Chicago, but Williams understands the race is here and they have to get things rolling.

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