Ben Johnson ready to write new chapter in Chicago Bears’ quarterback history

When excerpts from ESPN writer Seth Wickersham’s upcoming book became public last week, he didn’t only reveal that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and his family tried to avoid being drafted by the team. Wickersham also repeated a prevailing thought about the franchise.

“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl Williams, Caleb’s father, reportedly said in the book.

It’s hard to argue.

The Bears have become known for failing to develop a franchise quarterback for much of their existence. Recent first-round quarterback selections Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields both left town failing to be the answer, leaving the Bears still looking for a quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.

So how does new Bears head coach Ben Johnson view the mantra?

“I love it, I love it,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday during the first week of offseason training activities. “I love the opportunity to come on in and change that narrative. That’s where great stories are written. So we’re looking to write a new chapter here.”

Johnson addressed the book’s revelations during his opening statement Wednesday. Williams wasn’t made available to reporters to talk about the book.

Johnson said that he and Williams talked about the book when the excerpts became public last week. Although he couldn’t address what happened before he arrived in Chicago in January, Johnson said Williams was his own person.

The two were looking forward to moving on from the past and building something new in the future.

“From my four months on the job, he’s been outstanding to work with,” Johnson said of Williams. “We just are focusing on getting a little better every day.”

Correcting Williams’ development and flipping the mantra was one of the main reasons Bears general manager Ryan Poles hired Johnson this offseason. Johnson became one of the highly coveted coaching candidates over the past few offseasons because of how potent he made the Detroit Lions’ offense. He helped Lions quarterback Jared Goff put up big statistics.

The work started during the offseason and the Bears’ first two phases of the offseason. Johnson surrounded Williams with people whom he believed could help the quarterback succeed. Johnson hired offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, passing game coordinator Press Taylor and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett.

The Bears also signed veteran quarterback Case Keenum to bridge the gap between players and coaches.

“I feel really good about the mix around him,” Johnson said. “That allows the relationship just to naturally form.”

He also felt good about the process the Bears are using to develop Williams. One of the interesting excerpts from Wickersham’s book included Williams saying that no one from the previous coaching staff watched film with him or told him what to watch.

The Bears used much of the first two phases of their offseason program to work out and learn in the classroom. Doyle told reporters that Williams has shown initiative to get better, even working out by himself early on Saturday mornings.

Johnson said he developed his style of teaching and watching tape from coordinators and quarterback coaches over the years. He developed a combination that he thinks will put Williams and his quarterbacks in a spot to succeed.

“There’s a process that I believe in, that we believe in as an offensive staff, that we’re adhering to this springtime,” Johnson said. “We’re going to stay true to that, how we’re going to develop that position in particular and those are doing a great job working hard out there.”

The process will take time, though. Johnson said he’ll need to continue to build a rapport with Williams in the coming months before the season starts in September.

But based on the six weeks they’ve spent together, Johnson believes they’re on the path to proving the mantra about Bears quarterbacks wrong.

“He’s going to go out there and play as well as he possibly can, not just for himself, for me, but for the whole team and the city,” Johnson said. “I mean, that’s really what it comes down to. So we’re very much aligned in terms of what we want to get done and it just takes more time on task in terms of getting on the same page with how we’re going to do it.”