Ben Johnson isn’t under any illusions. While his goal to win games and make the playoffs remains undeterred going into this season, he also knows it won’t be a smooth process. The Chicago Bears are not a polished contender. They’re a group of talented athletes who haven’t learned how to win. At the heart of it is quarterback Caleb Williams, the former #1 overall pick. His success will determine how far the Bears go. Johnson knows this. It is why they hired him as head coach.
It would be great if Williams came out of the gate and racked up stats. However, nothing is that simple. Johnson’s offense was successful for years in Detroit, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to learn. Quarterbacks are required to absorb and retain boatloads of information. Asking Williams to handle it as smoothly as Jared Goff, a longtime veteran, is naive. Johnson knows this. It will take time for the quarterback to blossom. When will we know? Johnson offered an answer to Marquee Sports Network.
You’ll be able to tell before every snap.
“This thing is just going to accelerate; it goes exponentially,” Johnson said. “This year there’s growing pains. Next year he’s – I don’t want to use the word comfortable because we don’t ever want him to necessarily feel comfortable, but he’s going to have a lot more awareness in terms of what we’re doing.
“Rather than teaching algebra, we’re going to move on to calculus. That’s where his game will keep going up and up and up. It’s no longer reacting to the defense, it’s manipulating the defense. That’s the trajectory we’re on. How quickly we get there, that remains to be seen.”
"We should see steady improvement over the course of this season to where we're playing our best football in December and January."
Watch Ben Johnson’s exclusive interview on the Marquee Sports Network App.
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 27, 2025
Ben Johnson understands the quarterback position well.
When you watch the great ones operate, they all look the same before the snap. They examine the defense, diagnose what they’re showing, and make checks at the line of scrimmage to get guys lined up properly. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Montana were some examples of this. The last Bears quarterback who exhibited such traits was Jim McMahon. If Williams wants to join the elite class, he must learn how to function like a coach on the field. Ben Johnson can’t be there to hold his hand every second. This isn’t college anymore. If and when the quarterback reaches such a point, the Bears offense will become something this city hasn’t seen in decades.