Bear Digest

Top concerns about Ben Johnson center around Caleb Williams

Sure, Bears nation is red hot right now with Ben Johnson fever but there are concerns despite his impressive credentials and they center around his QB.
Gene Chamberlain|
Za'Darius Smith pressures Caleb Williams during the Dec. 22 Bears loss at Soldier Field to the Lions.
Za'Darius Smith pressures Caleb Williams during the Dec. 22 Bears loss at Soldier Field to the Lions. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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It could simply be a reaction to decades of seeing the best laid plans of mice and Bears men go awry, but it's still better to wade into all of this rejoicing over Ben Johnson than it is to go in face first.

Things can happen in the NFL.

Things do happen to the Bears.

This isn't to suggest Johnson will fail but merely how waiting to can be prudent after seeing: 1) Matt Nagy win the division his first year and then implode; 2) Dave Wannstedt make the playoffs his second year and then implode; 3) Dick Jauron win the division his third year and then implode; 4) Marc Trestman turn around the offense immediately and then implode; 5) John Fox and Matt Eberflus arrive unassembled and without instructions or batteries.

There are very few alarming numbers about the Detroit offense to concern anyone about what Johnson is bringing to the Bears.

However, there are a few things to think about, or wonder about after they paid out the reported big bucks for a coach they hadn't interviewed in person.

1. The Big Worry

Johnson looks like a genius and the offense he runs is enough his own creation so that drawing parallels between his arrival and Matt Nagy's is apples and oranges. Nagy was running Andy Reid's offense without Reid around. The Bears offense is going to be the Lions offense, the creation of Johnson, Dan Campbell and Hank Fraley

However, what Johnson has not done is develop a young quarterback.


He was in Miami when Ryan Tannehill was young but was in no way coaching the quarterbacks. In Detroit, Jared Goff arrived already as a Super Bowl quarterback and replaced veteran Matthew Stafford while Johnson was there.

Eberflus had no clue about how to handle this QB development situation with Justin Fields in Chicago and neither did former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Neither did Shane Waldron last year with Caleb Williams, which is understandable because he had never done it.

It's a situation Johnson now faces. He willingly took on the task of developing Williams, so he must have a plan or reason why he can succeed and it will be fascinating to hear it on Wednesday.

2. Big Worry Made Worse

It's not just developing a young passer, but now it's first reversing the damage done by mishandling a talented rookie and by putting him behind an inept offensive line.

With 68 sacks, they'll be lucky if Williams is able to start work on the new offense when they hold a minicamp or OTAs.

Williams might be physically fine but it couldn't have helped his mental process.

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky seems to be a Bears contrarian far too often but he was expressing something similar on Tuesday.

"He's got to get Caleb Williams to trust that he'll protect him," Orlovsky said.

The sacks take a toll.

"I think the biggest challenge: getting that quarterback, that young quarterback that one, got beat up in college, and two got beat up last year, to actually believe that you will keep him upright," Orlovsky said.

The Bears offensive line has been a problem unrepaired for four years, not just when Williams has been in Chicago. He's going to be gunshy.

3. The Run

This is going to take Johnson having an offensive line coach in place who gets the running game to work because the entire basis for the Detroit passing game is play-action. They used it in 2024 more than any team in the league.

The Bears were terrible at it because they were terrible at running, period. They reached a high point of 19th after the Hail Mary game and gradually worked their way down to 25th.


Orlovsky was critical of Williams' ability to work play-action last year but there's no evidence he can't do it. No one can do it when their running attack is as poor as the one the Bears had. Why bite on the fake when they can't run anyway?



So this one is going to be on Johnson himself, and the new OC and also the line coach, but more than anyone else it's going to be on Ryan Poles to get the right offensive linemen in who will change this and give Williams the chance to run this offense.

That's an awful lot of faith to put in Poles when he's had three years to do this already and hasn't gotten it done.

This isn't a reason to be worried about Johnson as much as it's a reason to be worried about those trying to help him.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.