There were a million times in Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ rookie season when he would’ve been justified in lighting up former coach Matt Eberflus for mishandling various parts of his NFL onboarding, but he never did.
Williams was just nine games into his career the first time he was asked if he’d lost confidence in his coach, and at the end of that season, long after Eberflus had been fired, he still performed verbal acrobatics when asked if he’d been coached well as a rookie. If he was resentful or exasperated, he kept it to himself.
The questions Williams is being asked about coaching now are a lot different, and he raved about Ben Johnson’s tough love and play calling wizardry after the Bears pulled off a 25-24 win over the Commanders on Monday.
So while Williams didn’t rip the previous coaching staff publicly, everything he says about the coaching he’s getting from Johnson illuminates what was lacking — especially when he volunteers it.
“I’m excited every single day that I get to wake up and be coached by him,” Williams said. And I know the other guys are also... The belief in him is there and we want to win for him.”
He never said anything even close to that about Eberflus or offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
He seemed to have an instant respect for Johnson, who came in with better credentials than his predecessor as the architect of the high-powered, innovative Lions offense, a coach who brought the best out of Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff and a person who exudes competency and confidence.
Williams referred to him as a play calling “mastermind,” another word that never came out of his mouth last season, and said Johnson’s value goes beyond his expertise in scheme and technique. He has brought a new attitude to the sideline, and it resonates.
“Sometimes he’s on the headset like, ‘This is a great play call right here. Here we go,’” Williams said. “He has all belief and confidence in himself. Those little things actually provide confidence when you’re about to [run] the play. You line up and you’re like, ‘Uh-oh,’ [but] then the play actually works.
“The belief and trust in him, the faith in him that he’s dialing it up — and he does every time.”
Williams is still an unknown after just 22 starts, but there are indicators he’s on his way up, and perhaps the Bears have found the coach-quarterback connection that has eluded them for so long. They weren’t even close the last few seasons in various combinations of Eberflus, Matt Nagy, Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields.
Both sides feel it clicking. It was fairly expected that Williams would listen well after a mixed bag of a rookie season, but there were no assumptions about how Johnson would take to him. Johnson spent the last five seasons in Detroit with Goff, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who learned under guru Sean McVay and had gone to a Super Bowl. Coaching a 23-year-old would be a much different assignment.
“The more time we’re spending together, the more we’re getting on the same page of why we like things, why we’re calling it, what we’re looking for,” Johnson said Tuesday. “That’s going to help him play faster.”
Anybody remember hearing that from the last few coach-quarterback combinations?
Williams completed 17 of 29 passes against the Commanders for 252 yards and a touchdown for a 98.6 passer rating. For the season, his 98 passer rating is 10 points better than his rookie season and ranks 17th in the NFL. He is 12th in yards per game (235.8), 14th in touchdown passes (nine), 12th in interceptions by percentage (two in 159 passes) and 29th in completion percentage (61.9).
That last number really needs to rise, and Johnson set the target at 70% for the season. Eight quarterbacks have completed 70% or more this season, so it’s a reasonable goal.
When Williams talks about Johnson, keep in mind this is a coach who has thoroughly rewired him and ridden him relentlessly along the way. Johnson hasn’t given him an inch of slack on the field or in meetings and hasn’t hesitated to air him out publicly for sloppiness. He tells him when he’s wrong.
Williams said at the end of last season he wanted the Bears to hire someone who would coach him hard, and they did.
In separate interviews with the Sun-Times before the season, Johnson said of Williams, “I’m sure he doesn’t like what comes out of my mouth sometimes,” and Williams said of Johnson’s direct feedback, “It’s what I am craving, what I was craving.”
That has led to occasional conflict between the two, but both pointed to those arguments as part of the path to growth. Williams called those “clashes” important and said, “We discussed the moment and what he wants from me, and you just keep moving along... I want that moment.”
Moments like that lead to the games Williams has had recently. He torched Eberflus’ defense when the Bears beat the Cowboys. He led the go-ahead drive for the win against the Raiders. And while he wasn’t amazing against the Commanders, he was solid and turned in a professional performance. There are so many uncertain steps ahead, but it’s undeniable that the Williams-Johnson pairing is pointed in the right direction.