Caleb Williams’ biggest gripe from the 2024 Chicago Bears coaching staff is certainly not an issue with Ben Johnson and his staff. Williams had an issue with former head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron leaving him on his own in the film room.
Williams is getting the tutelage he needs from Johnson and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to understand how to process what he’s seeing in the film room.
Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the coaching staff went over Williams’ tape from 2024 before showing him concepts of Johnson’s offense with the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford’s game, whom they want Williams to emulate with fundamentals and technique.
Veteran quarterback Case Keenum has been working with Williams when Collective Bargaining Agreement limitations force the coaches out of the office.
The Chicago Bears wanted 2 changes from their second-year QB
The process of getting Williams on track has been going on since April when OTAs began. Johnson’s staff demanded that Williams make two critical changes to his approach for 2025. He must switch up his demeanor and pre-snap routine.
“There were two areas where the coaches wanted improvement from Williams,” Breer wrote. “Both related to how he carried himself as the quarterback, based on what the 2024 season showed. One was body language. The other was presnap procedure.
“On the former, while the coaches understood the beating he took, they showed film to emphasize how he’d been slow to pull himself up off the ground. It was a long year. People got fired in-season. And in adverse circumstances, the staff explained, having a quarterback who was rolling with the punches would go a long way.
“On the latter, there was a smattering of small things—like on the first play of one game, he turned to his left, thinking the motion was coming, when it was actually coming from the right—that needed to be cleaned up.”
Caleb Williams was receptive to the feedback
Per Breer, Williams was receptive to the criticism from the new coaching staff. The results on the practice field were mixed when the media watched voluntary minicamp last week.
While some in the media hoped Williams’ progression under Johnson would be immediate, the 2023 Heisman-Trophy winner is going to need time to take what he’s been learning in the classroom during OTAs and apply it on the field.
It’s kinda of like having another rookie offseason, and it’s something that Bears fans have seen before with Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky.
Hopefully, the cycle stops with Johnson and Williams.
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Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson has essential checklist for Caleb Williams
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