Ryan Poles: Ben Johnson will build a strong foundation with Caleb Williams

During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, new Bears head coach Ben Johnson cited the presence of quarterback Caleb Williams as one of the primary reasons he was attracted to Chicago's vacancy.

After Williams’ up-and-down rookie season, everyone in the organization is interested in making sure the club can get the most out of the 2024 No. 1 overall pick going forward. General Manager Ryan Poles told reporters on Wednesday that in the interview process, Johnson talked about how he can help Williams improve.

But some of that is going back to the fundamentals and building up from a strong base.

“[Williams is] going to be challenged to be a professional football player. To do the little things the right way,” Poles said, via transcript from the team. “That foundation — I know Ben is going to hit that early and often get that foundation strong because you're going to build everything off of there. So once that's there, now we can continue to, to get better and play more consistently.

“We have to go back down to the foundation and make sure — when you're talking about fundamentals and technique, we got to make sure all of that's cleaned up. Obviously, I'll lean on Ben to handle that."

The relationship between Johnson and Williams will be critical for the quarterback’s development and Poles noted that Johnson’s direct style of communication makes him believe the head coach and QB will be compatible moving forward.

“I think that's really important with anybody,” Poles said. “Then we just talked about the adaptability. I would've been concerned if he said that this is a cookie-cutter thing — I'll bring Detroit's playbook here and just drop it. He probably wouldn't be there here if he said that.

“He understands that he's got a shift and change and adapt to the talent that he has. That awareness is really encouraging.”