Ben there, done that — Bears offseason review ...

"The Ben Johnson Effect" has carried the Bears through the offseason — even Caleb Williams referred to it when asked during OTAs about Johnson changing his footwork ("I get a kick out of that."). It's been an offseason of familiar new-coach cliches like culture change and accountability and attention to detail. And every time the question is asked, 'How will it be different this time?," the answer is the same — Ben Johnson.

That's the benefit Bears general manager Ryan Poles is reaping after hiring the hot coordinator that everybody else wanted. Johnson's credentials as the coordinator who invigorated the Lions' offense in three seasons — from 25th in scoring before he was promoted to fifth, fifth and first — give him credibility that Matt Eberflus and Matt Nagy never had.

And it's not a pie-in-the-sky comp, like a coach coming from the Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes) or Ravens (Lamar Jackson). The roster on offense Johnson inherited with the Bears is similar to the one he took over in Detroit in 2022. Caleb Williams doing for the Bears what Jared Goff has done for the Lions is not a big ask. DJ Moore is a better receiver today than Amon-Ra St. Brown was at this time in 2022. Even the unlikely comp of Penei Sewell developing into an All-Pro right tackle isn't impossible, with 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright showing that kind of potential in a bad offense in his first two seasons.

After the Bears concluded their offseason program Wednesday with the final OTA practice at Halas Hall, here's an overview of what can only be described as The Offseason of Ben Johnson:

BEST MOVE

It remains to be seen if Ben Johnson will be as good as advertised, but hiring Johnson was a watershed moment for the Bears. They broke the bank (a reported $13 million a season) to hire hire the hottest coordinator on the market with an expertise where they needed it most — with quarterback Caleb Williams and a chronically underachieving offense.

Whether or not Johnson has actual roster authority, that's been the effect since he was hired, as general manager Ryan Poles has been particularly fixated on giving Johnson the best chance to succeed — trading for guard Joe Thuney, signing center Drew Dalman and drafting tight end Colston Loveland (No. 10), wide receiver Luther Burden (No. 39) and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (No. 56) the first and second rounds of the 2025 draft.

PLAYER OF INTRIGUE

When Johnson told the Bears' braintrust "I want this job" before his Zoom job interview even started, Caleb Williams was likely the biggest reason. The Bears have question marks at left tackle and defensive end among other places, but developing Williams and taking him to another level is the key to the whole thing. After a promising rookie season in which he threw for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns with six interceptions, 6.3 yards per attempt for an 87.8 passer rating, Williams isn't likely to get there without a coaching mentor like Johnson.

Johnson already has changed Williams' footwork — Williams now takes shotgun snaps with his left foot forward instead of his right. One key area of improvement where Johnson can make a difference: managing Williams' risk-aversion that limited his production as a rookie. Williams' 68 sacks were the most in the NFL. His 6.3 yards per attempt ranked 33rd among quarterbacks with 200 or more attempts. The Bears were the only team in the NFL without a pass play of 50 yards or more. Instilling an aggressiveness in Williams — avoiding unnecessary sacks and taking more shots into the middle of the field where receivers have room for YAC — without making him turnover-prone is near the top of Johnson's to-do list.

BEST ACQUISITION

Outside of having the hottest coach in the cycle all but beg for the job, the availability of a player the caliber of guard Joe Thuney with your former employer might have been the second-best stroke of good fortune for Poles in the offseason.

Thuney was a first-team All-Pro in 2024 with the Chiefs and even received votes for offensive player of the year. He became a cap casualty and Poles seemed to be first in line to acquire the 32-year-old Thuney from Brett Veach for a fourth-round draft pick. It remains to be seen if Thuney will be as good or as durable with the Bears as he was with the Chiefs, but unless his play falls off a cliff he's a significant upgrade that improves the entire line. And signing him to a two-year extension through the 2027 season (essentially a three-year, $51 million deal), seems like a prudent move, unless the Chiefs know something about Thuney the Bears don't, which is unlikely between friends.

BIGGEST QUESTION MARK

With four starters on the offensive line set going into training camp — left guard Thuney, center Dalman, right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Wright — left tackle is open. Trapilo and 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie split first-team reps in offseason practices while 2023-24 starter Braxton Jones is recovering from ankle surgery.

Poles has indicated he wants to avoid the rotations that have affected continuity on the offensive line — Nate Davis/Ryan Bates at right guard in 2024; Nate Davis/J'Tyre Carter at right guard in 2023; Teven Jenkins/Lucas Patrick at right guard in 2022. It is likely the Bears have a starter in place early in training camp if not at the start. Reading tea leaves in the offseason, it would not be a surprise if Trapilo opens training camp as the starter at left tackle — with the job his to lose. Players acquired for Johnson's offense seem to have an edge.

RED FLAG?

After promising to "make everybody pay" for passing on him in the first round of the draft, Burden did not participate in offseason practices after suffering a soft-tissue injury during rookie mini-camp.

Johnson said Burden will be ready for the start of training camp, but did not minimize his absence. "He misses a lot," Johnson told reporters Tuesday at Halas Hall. "Anytime you're not out there, if you're in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you're losing valuable time — time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates; the ability to build the trust that we're talking about."

It remains to be seen whether Burden — or Loveland for that matter — will be full-go when training camp starts. But that again is where Johnson's history comes into play. In 2022 with the Lions, wide receiver Jameson Williams — the 12th pick of the draft — missed the first 11 games of his rookie season while recovering from ACL surgery, and made minimal impact overall. But Johnson's offense still improved from 25th in scoring in 2021 to fifth in 2022.

Maybe that's why Johnson was so nonchalant when asked about the possibility of Loveland and Burden missing the start of training camp.

"No worry whatsoever," Johnson said. "We've got plenty of weapons here on offense. We're going to be just fine."

BIGGEST HOLE TO FILL

If anything can undermine Dennis Allen's defense in his first season as coordinator, it's the pass rush. Montez Sweat, hampered by shin and foot injuries, wasn't as impactful in 2024 (5.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits in 16 games) as he was in 2023 (six sacks, 14 quarterback hits in nine games). A healthy Sweat figures to make a bigger impact, but it's still the other side of the line where the Bears need more production.

The Bears, somewhat surprisingly, released DeMarcus Walker, who had 3.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits and seven tackles-for-loss in 2024. Poles signed former Colts edge rusher Ayo Odeyingbo to replace him. Odeyingbo is coming off a less-productive season — three sacks in 2024 after having eight in 2023. The 6-6, 276-pound Odeyingbo, 25, is considered a good fit for Allen's defense. But he's flashed the kind of potential that has fooled NFL personnel people forever.

The Bears have nothing proven behind Odeyingbo. Johnson mentioned holdover defensive end Dominique Robinson as a player who has impressed him in the offseason. Second-year edge rusher Austin Booker turned out to be as raw as he was intriguing after being drafted in the fifth round in 2024 and can't be discounted in Year 2.

ROOKIE TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Running back Kyle Monangai seemed like the ultimate left-over in the draft — drafted in the seventh round only after the Bears seemed to miss out on running backs in the second through sixth rounds. Late-round running backs generally are guys who get much more attention in training camp and the preseason than in actual games. But if Johnson's offense succeeds in Chicago as it did in Detroit, everybody has a chance — especially players selected particularly for Johnson's offense.

The 5-8, 211-pound Monangai might turn out to be a practice squad player, but he's likely to get every chance to prove he's better than that. Johnson included him in his list of players who have impressed him. "I appreciate the attention to detail and the pride he takes and how quickly he's picking things up," Johnson said.

LOW-KEY SIGN OF CHANGE

With Johnson taking the lead, the Bears eventually extinguished an offseason fire better than they usually do after revelations about Caleb Williams and his father Carl's doubts about the Bears in an upcoming book by ESPN reporter Seth Wickersham rattled the Bears' world in May.

According to the book, Caleb preferred to play for the Vikings and also was miffed that he was left on his own for film study during the season. And his father had so much doubt about the Bears that he researched circumventing the draft.

Though those matters appeared settled with Caleb clearly happy to be with the Bears and a new coaching staff in place, that Caleb needed to address the revelations was a Reporting 101 responsibility. A faction of Bears fans vociferously protested, and some inside of Halas Hall typically agreed that it was not worthy of a response — or at least an immediate response — from Caleb Williams.

Johnson undercut that argument by addressing the issue "to get out in of that" in a press conference at Halas Hall on May 21. Williams was not available that day and wasn't scheduled to be available the following week during OTAs. But on May 28, he suddenly was available and addressed the issue. And just like that, it was over.

The Caleb/Wickersham book issue in and of itself was not a big deal. But that somebody at Halas Hall realized it was an issue that had to be addressed publicly whether or not they thought so inside the building is a step forward for the Bears. If Ben Johnson is the one improving the Bears' crisis management skills, it's all the better as a sign of changing times at Halas Hall. It's a virtual certainty that this won't be the last fire he'll have to put out.