Let’s rewind a bit to January 2025. “While it makes sense Ben Johnson took the Chicago job, people around the league are pretty surprised right now.” This is what Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported about Ben Johnson choosing the Bears over Trevor Lawrence‘s Jaguars. Johnson was the top candidate in the coaching circle for many teams. And two teams that were truly interested in the former Detroit Lions OC were the Bears and the Jaguars. 

But you might be thinking, why was it a shock? Many reporters and analysts were saying the Lions’ best offensive mind would land in Jacksonville. But he chose to go to Chicago. And you know what the real reason behind him ditching Lawrence over the Bears’ no. 1 overall pick QB is? NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero revealed the insider details about this on the Rich Eisen Show on April 9, 2025. 

Pelissero admitted, “Ben Johnson chose to go to Chicago knowing that he’s taken somebody who is so talented like Caleb Williams and so driven for whatever reason. Goal-oriented has to win eight Super Bowl stuff.” He also added, “Trevor Lawrence, his rookie year was Urban Meyer’s [rookie year]. In his rookie year, he has to take stuff that Urban says. And basically go and try to communicate it to the other coaches. because Urban’s doing such a bad job communicating and going up and asking why players are benched. It was a mess. This is a much bigger mess than the Bears.” In the 2024 season, the Jaguars had a 4-13 record and were 3rd in the AFC South. Their 2023 season was good, with 9 wins, but they couldn’t make the playoffs. Lawrence might have led the Jaguars to the playoffs, but there was no consistency. 

Well, these can be a few prominent reasons. But there is one more reason why Ben Johnson shook hands with the Bears. And it could be Trevor’s injury. The QB left the gridiron on December 1 after sustaining a concussion against the Texans and never returned. Though he is making progress in his throwing arm, Ben did not want to take a risk with the Jaguars, as Tom Pelissero also said. 

According to Ezekiel Trezevant of Sports Illustrated, the main reason was a quality quarterback. Caleb Williams was a top pick last year. Williams played all 17 games in his first year with a 62.5% completion rate, which looks low, but Ben Johnson would work upon it to increase that. He was 15th in touchdowns last year with 20 TDs and passes for 3541 yards in the whole season. 

Maybe Ben Johnson’s decision looks good to some, it only depends on how ready Caleb Williams is to pull up his socks and crush the opponent. Only time will answer some questions. And as we are waiting for Ben Johnson’s upcoming season, let’s check out Caleb Williams’s candid confession about HC. 

Caleb Williams’ honest take on HC Ben Johnson

The upcoming season will be Williams’s first season after the Bears fired Matt Eberflus in November 2024. As a talented coach has landed in the city in January, all Bears fans are excited, and Caleb Williams is no exception. In a recent convo with the reporters, the 2024 NFL draft’s first overall pick praised his HC. “I’m super excited about it,” Williams praised.

He also said, “Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did – ups and downs – and then to be able to come in here, be as confident as I was last year, possibly even more, and to be able to get here with the group that we have, I really can’t wait to get to work with these guys.”  Last year, the Bears lost the season with only 5 wins and 12 losses. And fans couldn’t let them go into the offseason without heavy criticism. 

During Caleb’s press conference on Tuesday, he admitted how the newly appointed HC has already started working with the QB and wants to ensure that the young lad is on his Ps and Qs. “[T]oday we had our first quiz as a QB room,” Williams said. “And it’s not like a real quiz where you go up and write stuff. It’s just us, we went over a few things yesterday, talked about a few things. And Ben walked in this morning, flung open the door, made a grand entrance, and then we got to work of him testing us about what we talked about yesterday and things like that.” 

The young QB continued talking about how Ben Johnson was already in and challenging the players, “Already first day in and challenging us. And everybody loves a challenge in this sport. It’s one of the great things about the sport — every day is a challenge. And today, we got our first one.”

The Bears’ No.1 pick had a challenging rookie season as the Bears lost it by a huge count. The QB also admitted how his perspective has shifted with now a year under his belt and with Johnson’s creative thinking on the offensive line. He also went on to say how the duo should now also work in tandem for the results to show on the field. “I think us growing together is key,” Williams said. “Starting now, him pushing me, [is] key. I know that and he knows that — him pushing me, because as he says and as he said before, it’s a QB-driven league. So, being able to have that position right on every team, that’s why that position is so important in [the] draft.”

So, the fans also might be excited to see how Ben Johnson’s sharp football mind will handle his first venture into head coaching. With all eyes on him, it’ll be interesting to see how he manages the challenges and responsibilities that come with leading a team. Let’s see how the upcoming season unfolds.