Why Ben Johnson bet on the Bears, Caleb Williams: 'He's fearless'

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It's a new age at Halas Hall.

The Chicago Bears have hired former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their head coach, the most coveted candidate on the market.

They moved quickly and spent big to land him.

"We know you get what you pay for," team president Kevin Warren said.

According to general manager Ryan Poles, Johnson was their top candidate all along.

And Chicago was where Johnson wanted to be.

Quarterback Caleb Williams was a huge reason why.

Johnson has had his eye on the Bears for a while, if for no other reason than they shared the same division — the toughest division — the NFC North. Johnson has been known to see the best and bring out the best in people, as evidenced by the past few seasons in Detroit, and he saw something in the Bears.

"Going into the season, I felt this place was a sleeping giant," Johnson said Wednesday during his introductory press conference. "To be honest with you, I was more concerned about the Chicago Bears than any other team in the division."

Granted, the Bears' roar in the preseason ended up being mightier than their actual bite. The team won just five games. They suffered a 10-game losing streak, losing to Johnson's Lions twice in that span.

Through it all, though, Williams had one of the best statistical seasons ever for a Bears quarterback, passing for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns against just six interceptions.

Johnson will now be tasked with taking that potential and getting actual production out of it.

Williams was asked what he thought Johnson would be able to unlock in him and his game.

His answer?

"Score an insane amount of points," the 23-year-old QB said.

Johnson's offense averaged 33.2 points per game this year. That was the