The 2025 offseason for the Chicago Bears was all about setting quarterback Caleb Williams on a better course for the Chicago Bears. It was therefore not surprising when they hired former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach.
Johnson's offense in Detroit operated a certain way. Jared Goff, being a quintessential pocket passer, had to play within the structure of the offense. That made him a perfect fit for what Johnson wanted, and Goff's career was revived by having Johnson as his play-caller.
It's also fair to say Williams is the antithesis of Goff as a quarterback. He became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft by being able to make things happen on the move and make plays out of structure. There's a place for that improvisation, because plays do go awry sometimes.
Johnson has made it clear the offense he runs in Chicago will be different than the one he ran in Detroit. Different skill sets of the players involved will make some of the differences obvious, up to and including how different a quarterback Williams is than Goff. But the core of how Johnson would like his quarterback to play is not going to disappear.
At the time the Bears hired Johnson, draft analyst Thor Nystrom immediately called out the bad stylistic fit was for Williams.
The Bears' offense was not in good form during last Sunday's "Family Fest" scrimmage at Soldier Field, and afterward Johnson pulled no punches to call it out.
"It was sloppy -- sloppier than we were hoping we would be at this point," Johnson said.
In regard to multiple delay of game penalties that were noted by reporters during the scrimmage, rooted in Williams too often getting the offense out of the huddle late, Johnson expressed concern.
"It's something we're going to have to address, for sure," Johnson said. "It showed up more today than it has in practice. This was more like a real game. And if it continues like that, we're not going to win many games."
Getting down it, training camp is the time to iron out whatever kinks there might be. The Bears' offense is going to have ups and downs right now, as a new system is being learned and fully execute, and there's time to tighten up the pre-snap procedural stuff.
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Nystrom is a noted fan of Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but he's absolutely objective on all topics. Ian Hartitz of Fantasy Life recently asked him to pick between Johnson and Williams and Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love as the NFC North head coach-quarterback he'd take for the long-term.
Nystrom chose the Packers' head coach and quarterback, then he went deeper into why from the Bears' angle.
"I think Ben Johnson & Caleb Williams will fail, together", Nystrom said. "I said this right from the time they made that hire, I think it is a very bad stylistic fit, the two of those guys together. Ben Johnson is a director that writes out movie scripts and expects you to read the lines as written. Whereas Caleb Wiliams, he can do without your script....This is a just a very bad stylistic fit, and you're already seeing the frustration coming out of Chicago's training camp."
As reflected by the league-high 68 sacks he took, which could have been far more if he weren't so mobile, Williams' willingness to hold the ball in search of out-of-structure plays got him trouble as a rookie last year. Johnson's scheme and better play-calling should automatically help address those pass protection/inviting pressure issues, without compromising what makes Williams an exceptional talent.
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But if Williams can't functionally operate from within the pocket on a regular basis, Nystrom will be proven right. And the Bears will be faced with some big organizational decisions, long before they thought they'd have to address them again.