Ben Johnson has answered a very important question. He has explained why he chose to leave the Detroit Lions and become head coach of the Chicago Bears.
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Johnson, who had many suitors, provided the details during his introductory press conference on Jan. 22. He explained that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was a driving factor as he chose the Bears over other teams.
"Modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven," Johnson explained. "That is no secret. You can look at analytics. Right now, quarterback success is a higher predictor of winning and losing than turnover ratio, which has been for 20-plus years. That's changed.
"So there is no doubt Caleb played a large component into my decision. He is a phenomenal talent that had, as many quarterbacks do, an up-and-down rookie year."
Williams, the first overall pick out of the University of Southern California, posted solid end-of-season stats. He threw for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions while completing 62.5% of his throws.
Diving deeper, however, shows that Williams struggled in some key games. He threw for a mere 93 yards during the season-opening win over the Titans as the Bears' defense and special teams accounted for multiple touchdowns.
Williams had a four-game stretch where he failed to throw a touchdown. He threw for 150 yards in two of these games as the Bears lost to the Patriots and Commanders. Williams fell short of 200 yards passing in four of the final five games of the season.
Williams also completed some highlight-reel throws against the rival Vikings and other teams during his rookie campaign. These plays did not lead to wins but showed the potential for future success as Williams worked with two different head coaches.
Now, he will move forward with the coach responsible for the Lions putting up at least 40 points in six different games en route to a 15-2 record.
"Where I see my role is as a supporter of (Williams)," Johnson added. "This offense will be calibrated with him in mind. We are going to build this thing. This is not simply a dropping of a previous playbook down on the table and starting there. Nope.
"We're ripping this thing down to the studs and we're going to build it up with him first and foremost and then with the pieces around him next."
