Caleb Williams' Offseason Plan Revealed By Bears HC Ben Johnson, 'Back to the Basics'

How successful head coach Ben Johnson is during his tenure with the Chicago Bears will ultimately come down to whether he can unlock quarterback Caleb Williams' full potential, and he revealed some of his early plans in their first year together.

"You go back to the basics," Johnson said Tuesday, per Larry Mayer of the team's official website. "It's the fundamentals of the quarterback position: What's our footwork going to look like under center? From the shotgun? What are we calling the formations? What's the defensive identification going to look like? So that we're all speaking the same language.

"We've got to get on the same page because it'll be a little bit different for him than what he experienced last year, and if we can mesh together and start speaking the same language, that's when things will really start to take off."

Part of that will include Williams becoming more comfortable working under center after taking so many shotgun snaps during his rookie season and collegiate career at USC.

And part of that will include getting more comfortable behind the team's new-look offensive line.

Chicago added Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson on the interior of its offensive line this offseason, which should bolster what was a significant area of concern last season.

Giving Williams more time to throw will make an offense that features no shortage of playmakers in DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and D'Andre Swift all the more dangerous, especially if the unit adds another piece or two during the NFL draft.

Johnson is an ideal candidate to help that offense become far better this season.

The Detroit Lions led the NFL in points in 2024 after finishing fifth in that category in 2022 and 2023 when he was the offensive coordinator. His ability to scheme receivers such as Amon-Ra St. Brown open for quarterback Jared Goff all while working in a run game with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs made the Lions nearly unstoppable.

The plan is to do the same in Chicago, and it all starts with Williams going back to basics as he begins to work with his new coach.