'Fragile' no more: How the Bears' Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson evolved

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was drowning in information. Just about every practice during training camp featured Williams and the first-team offense getting flagged for a presnap penalty, with multiple instances occasionally occurring on the same drive.

Williams routinely struggled to get playcalls right and relay them on time. He was processing more information than at any point in his career. During one practice in particular, Williams grew so frustrated while trying to execute the multitude of directives from Bears first-year coach Ben Johnson that he dismissed his head coach by waving him off.

Johnson quickly corrected that decision.

"He lit a fuse into the mic," Williams said.

Getting chewed out by his head coach didn't feel great, but Williams learned to appreciate the education he received from Johnson because of the results it produced. It just took him a while to get there.

"At certain parts, it felt like our relationship was pretty fra-gee-lay [fragile], from my perspective," Williams said. "It was like, gee, this dude, doesn't seem like he likes me."

Johnson's tough-love approach was one Williams pleaded for after his rookie season featured a 10-game losing streak, 5-12 finish and the in-season firing of Matt Eberflus. Williams wanted to be held accountable and coached hard. Johnson wanted a quarterback who would accept his coaching style. The marriage has had its rough spots, but the Year 1 results have been better than many expected.

The Bears will try to notch their first playoff win since Jan. 16, 2011 when they host the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card game on Saturday (8 p.m., Prime). Chicago, which is the No. 2 seed in the NFC, enters the postseason having lost two in a row and 3 of 5, including once to the Packers. It also enters the playoffs with an upset coach after Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions.

Williams was invested in the coaching search from the moment it kicked off last January while he was training in Jacksonville, Florida. He wanted Johnson to be his head coach so badly that he fell for a video call prank orchestrated by several teens pretending to be Johnson weeks before he was hired.

When Williams was informed by the team's brass that Johnson had officially taken the job, the 24-year-old let out a scream of elation in his car. He raced back to snowy Chicago and sat front row at Johnson's introductory news conference, where the head coach looked Williams in the eye and relayed the impact he had on choosing the Bears: "He is a phenomenal talent," Johnson said. "I see my role as a supporter of him."

Caleb Williams pulled up wearing his head coach Ben Johnson's high school jersey 🙌 pic.twitter.com/8TSCVchGVC

"We know that he loves us as people, us as humans, and he loves us as players," Williams said. "But he also loves to win. He likes things the way that he likes things to be done. And we understand that, and everybody wants to go out there and win and play for him.

"And I think we've shown that so far."

EBERFLUS HAD NEVER been responsible for developing an NFL quarterback. He was the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator for four years before the Bears hired him, and he's currently the Dallas Cowboys' DC.

And Williams wasn't just any QB. The former Heisman Trophy winner was the 2024 No. 1 pick, and his notoriety created lofty expectations. So Eberflus sought advice on how to coach Williams from the most experienced and respected coach he knew.

An episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks" in the summer of 2024 showed Eberflus sitting in his office at Halas Hall across from seven-time national champion coach Nick Saban. He jotted down notes from Saban, who coached Eberflus at Toledo.

"Do you do anything special with the quarterback?" Eberflus asked.

Saban implored Eberflus to conduct most of his critiques of Williams behind closed doors.

"I was never negative with [the quarterback] in front of the rest of the team," Saban said. "It's always more effective to me to show him than it was to tell him."

Johnson took the opposite approach. He let Williams know early he would be critiqued the same way as every other player on the roster, and in front of the team, too.

It helped Johnson that he came to Chicago after helping build one of the best offenses in the league as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. He was the top candidate in the coaching cycle, and he came to the Bears with a plan.

"He was leaning in really heavy," Williams said of Johnson during OTAs. That meant rehuddling again and again when his head coach noticed the tiniest of mistakes.

"Some coaches are afraid to coach the No. 1 overall pick, but at the end of the day -- and I have no problem saying this -- Caleb comes in, he doesn't know anything," tight end Cole Kmet said. "So you've got to teach the guy, you've got to get on him. And I think Ben's done a really good job of that."

Johnson made it a point to hold everyone, from the last player on the 90-man roster to the franchise quarterback, to the same standard.

"Anybody can get [disciplined]," backup quarterback Tyson Bagent said. "I've seen everybody get it. I've seen Caleb get it. It can be anything.

"In one of the first team meetings, [Williams] had a thing of food, and Ben caused a scene in front of everybody, but nobody's brought food in there the whole season. So it definitely works."

The way Johnson sees it, if the quarterback is ultimately responsible for the operation of the offense, the players around him should see where the bar is set.

🗣️ "THE ICEMAN COMETH"@JeffJoniak's @ESPN1000 call is an all-timer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3WSNFcZD1n

"I've been at places where sometimes the quarterback is coached more in the meeting room, where it's just him and the position coach or him and the playcaller," quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett said. "But for us, everybody hears it, and we got it corrected right then and there.

"A similar thing is we'll be in a unit meeting going over practice or going over the game and we're reviewing [the film] like -- 'Hey, this isn't good enough.' And if [Johnson's] able to say that about the quarterback, who's arguably our best player, it's one of those things where other players are like, 'I've got to make sure I'm on my P's and Q's, too.'"

THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN Johnson and Williams as the clock ticked down didn't last more than a couple of seconds, but the encouragement laid the groundwork for a signature moment.

Late in the fourth quarter of Chicago's Week 4 win at Las Vegas, Johnson and his quarterback huddled close together for an exchange of words before the offense took the field for its final drive. Johnson put his play sheet to his mouth to isolate his message in front of 62,642 screaming fans at Allegiant Stadium.

"This is what you're built for," Johnson told Williams.

The quarterback nodded in agreement. What came next was an 11-play, 69-yard touchdown march, the first of Williams' six game-winning drives. The Bears' six wins when trailing in the final 2:00 of the fourth quarter are the most by any team in a season since the 1970 merger.

When Johnson took over in Chicago, he installed a system that would streamline the communication process for how many coaches would speak directly to the quarterback on game days. With Johnson doubling as head coach and playcaller, it was imperative for the two to foster trust. That came from meeting together in Johnson's office every day Williams is at Halas Hall.

"You need the playcaller and the quarterback to be in sync, be able to think the same way," offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. "I think both of them have been very open to learning how each other kind of operates, and that takes time. There's no shortcut to that. There's nothing fake about that. That's them being in a room and talking through football.

"Part of it is Caleb being wide-open to be trained to think like Ben thinks, and part of that is Ben figuring out how do I communicate to the quarterback in the best way for him to understand. And I think that's in any coach/player relationship. You're trying to figure out, how does this guy learn best and then how can I put him in positions to go out and have success."

Williams' relationship with Johnson went from fragile to unbreakable because of their one-on-one meetings and the results that proved Johnson knew how to take the Bears' offense to the next level.

"The constant meetings, the constant communication, his consistency in who he is," Williams said. "He wasn't on one day and off the next or on one week and off the next. That's who he's been. That's how he's going to be.

"So when you can sit back and realize that's who somebody is, the respect, the trust, the loyalty grows, and then you go out there on the football field, and what he's saying works and the plays work and the alignments and assignments, they work. That trust and loyalty starts to grow, and you build more of that, and then the bond and all of that starts to grow a lot more."

And in the moments that haven't worked out, the trust and accountability have proved just as valuable. Williams put the onus on himself for throwing a game-sealing interception against the Green Bay Packers in Week 14, just as Johnson called himself out for not delivering the final playcall in San Francisco quickly enough for the quarterback to get the offense aligned properly.

That doesn't mean Johnson doesn't publicly hold his quarterback accountable. After a run-heavy 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, which featured the second-lowest completion percentage of Williams' career (47.2%), Johnson said:

"Everybody's got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. We're winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it, and none of us are pleased with that right now."

Johnson clarified his remarks the following day.

"I think when I made that comment yesterday, it's easy to construe it as I'm not happy with the quarterback," Johnson said. "That's not the case whatsoever. He continues to get better each and every week, and I couldn't be more pleased with how he played last week.

"I know what the stats say. Throw those out of the window. He's doing a really good job managing the ball game. That's step No. 1 for the quarterback. And so he's going to continue to get better. The process is really good right now with how he approaches the week, the way he's taken the coaching, the way he's applying the coaching. I'm very pleased with that. I think we're going to continue to see him ascend, whether the stats tell the story or not."

It's been 11 months of developing a relationship while learning what makes the other tick. And while the two have learned to speak the same football language, keeping their individual personalities intact is pivotal to the balance they provide each other.

"They've grown as a good tandem together," Kmet said. "I think Ben's so high-strung and detail-oriented where Caleb's kind of like the artist and creative.

"I do think there was a bit of molding time between that, marrying that up a little bit. They're a good yin and yang with one another."

AS THE OFFENSE lined up on first-and-10 from the Green Bay 46-yard line in overtime, Doyle and the others in the Bears coaches' booth anticipated a certain defensive look that would allow Williams to take a deep shot down the field.

As soon as the Bears broke the huddle and Doyle saw that the Packers were in Cover-0 shell with two high safeties, he knew Chicago was seconds away from pulling off yet another improbable win

"This is going to be a walk-off if he gives him a shot," Doyle thought.

Williams dropped back and lofted a 46-yard pass to DJ Moore in the end zone. As the ball spun through the air, Williams casually slipped his hands back into his insulated pouch to keep warm. Once Moore caught the ball with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon draped over him, Williams rubbed his hands on his shoulders in his "Iceman" celebration before being mobbed by his teammates.

The 22-16 win was Chicago's 11th of the season. After the Lions lost to the Steelers the following day, the Bears secured their first postseason bid since 2020.

"I get drafted here, told that I'm not a special player, told that I'm not a good fit here, told that Coach and I won't work," Williams said. "I'm told that I can't win here.

"And so I know that's going to keep going on, but I do take a little satisfaction in being able to help this team, help this organization, be a part of it to get to the playoffs."

The Lions made the playoffs in Johnson's last two seasons (2023-24) as offensive coordinator. Detroit made it as far as the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and lost in the divisional round a year ago.

The experience wasn't new for quarterback Jared Goff, who had been to the Super Bowl five years prior with the Los Angeles Rams, but the way Johnson managed an experienced quarterback as the expectations heightened is the same way Barrett believes he'll handle Williams' first postseason experience.

"Everybody's aware of the stakes and what they are," said Barrett, who was Detroit's quarterbacks coach. "If anything, it's probably making sure that you're not putting too much pressure on yourself, because understanding the situation that we're in [is important] and we got to win to keep moving on."

Williams, who set a franchise record with 3,942 passing yards while throwing 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions, will author another chapter in his journey with Johnson beginning Monday. It's one that has been filled with proof of concept for a young quarterback who has seen his steady growth lead to tangible success. For a first-time head coach, it has proved that his method is the right one to guide a team to heights it hasn't seen in decades while reinvigorating football in a city starved for wins.

"I've got the best coach in the world," said Williams, who wore a replica Ben Johnson high school jersey to Sunday's game. "We have the best coaching staff in the world, and so you put the talent with the coaches and the people that care, you can strive for anything. You can reach anything. You can go after any goal.

"When you go out there on that football field, your belief is at an all-time high between players, between coaches, and you have outcomes like this."