Caleb Williams has a harsh but true assessment of the Bears' offseason

This week has had a "back to school" feel to it for the Chicago Bears as the team has begun their offseason program.

Given the arrival of Ben Johnson as the team's head coach, the Bears are allowed to start their offseason program early. Most of these early days will be spent in meetings as Johnson defines the direction of the team moving forward under his watch.

The Bears are starting their offseason program after once again being labeled "offseason champions". It's a title that has followed the Bears over the last three offseasons, but this time, there is a different feel to it. A different feel in the sense that the Bears have done all the right things.

Hiring Johnson wasn't just the obvious move for the Bears, it was the right move. Addressing the offensive line also falls into that same category. However, no one was expecting the addition of All-Pro Joe Thuney to be part of that process.

The Bears' stock seems to be soaring once again but you won't hear that from the players. When asked about the Bears' offseason, Caleb Williams admitted that now isn't the time to be excited. Instead, Williams reminded everyone that the work hadn't started.

The Chicago Bears are done with the idea of being "offseason champions".

Williams is at the center of that work. Of course, Johnson being his head coach already puts him in a much better spot than he was in last season with a defensive-minded head coach in Matt Eberfllus, and an overmatched Shane Waldron as his offensive coordinator.

If nothing else, an early encouraging sign is that buy-in appears to be there from the Bears' roster. As Jaylon Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, part of the reason why it's important for players to appear during their voluntary portion of the Bears' offseason program is show respect to the team's new coach staff. That respect between the players and coaching staff wasn't there last season.