In Ben Johnson’s first season as the Chicago Bears' head coach, the foundation was set for the organization to build from.
Johnson demanded accountability from his players and staff. He required the nuanced details to be put into practice so that excellence could be achieved on the football field. He established a culture of belief in a locker room that endured far too many gut-punching losses the season before.
That was set in Year 1 with Johnson, and all those fundamental building blocks should carry over next season. One of the most important elements, also built from the ground up, was the relationship between Johnson and Caleb Williams.
Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are building a strong bond together
Initially, the Bears’ quarterback didn’t even know if Johnson liked him. But that’s just a part of Johnson’s personality. His intent isn’t to create a divide; instead, Johnson wants to unlock a player’s full potential.
Hard coaching and high expectations are a method to make that happen. Williams prioritized building his relationship with his head coach.
“It's grown tremendously,” Williams said. “That's something that I wanted to do. That's something that was very important for me because I want to be here for a while, and I know he wants to be here for a while. Just being able to attack our relationship and bond and trust between each other was really important for us, to be able to help be in this position as a team, and to be able to be in this position many times in the future.”
Under Johnson’s guidance, the second-year quarterback played in all 17 games, threw for a franchise record 3,942 yards, and added 30 total touchdowns (27 passing and three rushing) while throwing seven interceptions.
The two helped the Bears win 11 games, clinch the NFC North, and advance to the playoffs, where they beat the Green Bay Packers. Even though the season ended with a20-17 Divisional loss to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime at Soldier Field, this team has created positive momentum heading into the 2026 NFL season.
Williams mentioned wanting to be in Chicago for a while, and one of the most important details to make that happen was to establish a strong connection with his head coach.
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“He's gotten so much better over the course of the season,” Johnson said. “I can say that from being the play caller, the coaching staff would say that. I think his teammates would tell you the same thing. He's going to continue to ascend. His comfort level in what we were doing has gotten better each and every week. There's plays every week that go from us talking about over the course of the week and he just brings it to life on game day. I'm very encouraged about where he's at. I think we're going to be able to watch this tape from this first year together, and I expect us to really learn from a lot of things and be better next year.”