NEW ORLEANS (WGN) — The week leading up to the Super Bowl is a grueling, days-long grind from sun up, to sundown for media members in attendance.
For WGN’s Jarrett Payton and Rick Tarsitano, it was no different. The two polled former NFL players, front office personnel, and other media members on the most important names in the Chicago Bears organization, on top of their normal duties helping produce and report for Big Game Bound, Nexstar’s annual week-long sports show leading up to the biggest game in football.
Here’s what others around the league had to say about quarterback Caleb Williams, new head coach Ben Johnson, and general manager Ryan Poles heading into next season.
Caleb Williams
Former Bears Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte: “I’m excited for Caleb and what can happen. We need to shore up the front line and make sure that he’s protected. [Williams] was the most sacked quarterback this past season, but with a guy like Ben Johnson and what he’s done in Detroit, it’s not cookie cutter.”
Q: When you see Caleb going into year two, what do you want to see him work on and also, how do you think Ben Johnson is going to help him elevate his game?
MF: “I want to see him work on this part, the mental—the mentality of how he goes into games. How are you continuing to deal with failure? How you deal with success as well. I think that means a lot. Football is a really physical sport, but 80-85% of it is mental. It takes a big heart to know that and to do it the right way. So, I was encouraged by the flashes that we did see, that he never had a game where he just gave up and didn’t try to win the game. Also, when it comes to the flashes of greatness that we’ve seen, I’m encouraged by the lack of interceptions. He didn’t have a ton of interceptions like a lot of rookie quarterbacks sometimes do … I was encouraged by that part, but then I’m looking forward to see how he grows mentally within the game, reading defenses, how he encourages, becomes a vocal leader more and more. I know from the jump, from my first year to second year, was the confidence and the comfortability behind the line was just leaps and bounds different than my rookie year.”
Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback and NFL analyst Matt Hasselbeck: “The draft, it’s never right. I mentor a lot of those quarterbacks that are coming out for the combine—I’m kind of like their combine therapy dog, for lack of a better term—and everyone was talking about Caleb Williams. It’s all anyone was talking about. it was almost nauseating. If I was Jayden Daniels, I would have been rolling my eyes. Jayden Daniels was clearly the best quarterback in football this year as a rookie. Drake Maye was awesome. Bo Nix was awesome. Everyone’s list was wrong. There was not one person who got the list right pre-draft. So, some of that is where you go, sure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you need to know what you’re looking for, then you need to stick to your guns and support that person and put them with the right quarterback room, the right play caller, the right offensive line, the right defense—all of it. Some teams do it well and some teams really don’t.”
Former Bears All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall: “Caleb is the real deal. Caleb is what we’ve been waiting for in Chicago. Now, it’s about putting everything around him in place … So, it starts with ownership. They have to continue to make the right decisions and get out the way … Ben [Johnson] is going to be great. Caleb is great. That’s why we chose him where he was picked so, I’m excited about it Chicago. If you become a winner in Chicago, you’re a legend forever.”
Q: What did you see in year one that shows you Caleb Williams can be special?
BM: “Not even year one, before the season started. See, these are the things you look for in the locker room. This is what you mean, talking about the ‘it factor’ and being special. His rookie year, Hard Knocks. He’s a rookie. Be quiet rookie, right? So, there’s a video, a clip out where he breaks down the huddle after practice one day. Hasn’t spoken pretty much all camp in this manner, like as a leader. He said, ‘Hey guys, I got something to say. See, bring it up here. Bring it up.’ He said, ‘Hey man, the locker room is messy and these people are cleaning up after us. That’s not okay. We’re men. We’re professionals. Let’s clean up after ourselves and the support team will help, but they’re not here to clean up after grown men.’ When I saw that, I said he got it because he can throw the ball. He has high football IQ. Can you lead men when you have a Brandon Marshall on your team that’s an alpha receiver? When I’m saying throw me the d*mn ball? Are you going to be able to navigate through that the same way Jalen hurts navigate through AJ Brown? The same way Joe Burrow navigates through Ja’Marr Chase? That’s what it takes to be great.
“Now, the other elements too—this is where Jay Cutler was really good—is playing int he elements. You know, [he’s] a D.C. guy. Maybe he has it there, but played in Cali, but those elements are real in Chicago. I think he’s built for it. He comes from that, grew up in that. That’s the only thing, you got to be able to play in those elements.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator, former Bears head coach Matt Nagy: “I got to watch him on TV and you can obviously see the talent, I mean, he’s super talented. You see some of those flashes in there, those plays that some people don’t make. I think that’s what all of Chicago saw as well so, that’s what makes you hungry to be able to see more. I think everybody’s got to remember too, these rookies are so young. When you get thrown into different situations, everything that he went through this year, will only help him be better for the future, but he’s super talented.”
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze: “I think he’s going to make a big jump. He has the drive and competitiveness to be the best player he can be so, I know he’s going to work his tail off this offseason and such. We’re going to be right there with him trying to build that chemistry and have an amazing year.”
Member of 1985 Bears, former NFL head coach Ron Rivera: “I love what they did. First and foremost, they had to do something with the quarterback position, okay? The biggest thing—and I don’t think people understand this—this is a quarterback-driven league. If you got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance to be here. They went out, they drafted Caleb in the first round … Caleb is going to have an opportunity to reset. He now understands a little bit. Hopefully, he’s got a little bit more humility and one of the things I would’ve made sure Caleb understands is, you get knocked down, don’t lie on the ground like you did during the Detroit game. Get your butt up. If you go to the sideline, don’t slump in your chair and I’m going to tell you why. The only time I ever saw a guy named Walter Payton ever slump, was on the airplane flying home. That’s the only time you could tell he was sore. When he used to come to the sideline, the head trainer, Freddy Caito, would come over and he would say, ‘What’s wrong?’ and he would start rubbing Walter’s left shoulder and he’d go, ‘No, no, no. Rub my right shoulder. I don’t want them to know it’s my left shoulder.’ That’s what it’s about. That’s what you need to understand. When you’re coming and you’re going to be a Chicago Bear, there’s a certain grit that you need to have. I’m hoping that’s what this young man is learning and now understands what it’s going to take because I really think Caleb Williams can be a solid, winning quarterback in Chicago in this NFL league.”
Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach: “I certainly didn’t get a chance like you guys did to analyze the week in, week out, but just going back to his college days, he’s a tremendous talent. Ryan’s going to do a great job of continuing to surround him with a really good support system, both on the field and away from the field. Look at what Sam Darnold did this year out of nowhere. All these guys develop at a different rate and as long as you continue to believe in them and put good pieces around them, they’ll eventually get to reach their max potential. I have full confidence that Ryan will continue to do that. I think there’s going to be a lot of exciting football for Chicago fans in the future.”
Ben Johnson
Former Bears Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte: “You can’t say what happened there is going to happen here. But I do like that he does a lot of the on the move and play action stuff. He likes to establish the run game, which I’m liking that too.”
Q: Ben Johnson hasn’t been a head coach before. How beneficial is it to have guys like Eric Bieniemy and Dennis Allen on his staff to help support him as he gets his bearings?
MF: “Hugely beneficial. It’s all about who you surround yourself with. Great leaders do that. They surround themselves wit good counsel around them. When you have guys like Eric Bieniemy and the other guys he’s placing around him, it reminds me of what he was a part of in Detroit, where Dan Campbell surrounded himself with pretty much all former NFL players—Aaron Glenn and all of those guys who have been a part of the game, have played it and have been through the gauntlet of what it takes to be successful in the NFL. So, just because Ben has never been a head coach, doesn’t mean he won’t be successful. I think it’s who you place around you and that team. He’s doing it right.”
Former Bears Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long: “You bring a guy like Ben Johnson in, that’s the home run hire. I can’t remember the last time the Bears made thee home run hire. We’ve always kind of gotten the seconds, scraps. Ben Johnson is the guy everybody wanted and George and Ryan and Kevin did a great job of bringing in that guy. I’m excited about it as a fan and as a former player, I know how much it helps to have someone who is on the cutting edge of these schemes, and Ben Johnson is just that.”
Q: How big of an influence do you see Ben Johnson having on Caleb Williams going into year 2?
KL: “I think it’s everything. I think we saw so many amazing ingredients for greatness with Caleb Williams in his rookie campaign. To be able to add some Ben Johnson teaching in there, spending a lot of time with that kind of offensive wizard, understanding not only what you’re doing but why you’re doing it will go a long way for Caleb and that entire group in that offensive meeting room.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator, former Bears head coach Matt Nagy: “Oh yeah. I have a lot of respect for him and what he does, just the offense that he runs. It’s a cool path that he’s had to be able to get to this point. We’re a small fraternity of coaches that are around each other. You go different places and you work through this. I was in those shoes before. You guys know it. I was there and so there’s a lot that you go through that you don’t know [about] if you’ve never been a head coach before. When you go through that, it’s very important to make sure you have a circle of people around you that can really help you out. However that is, you’ve got to have that because it’s a little different when you’re not just a coordinator. But they’ll do a heck of a job there and I’m just a big fan of what he’s done there in Detroit and he’s going to have a bright future.”
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze: “It’s been hard to put into words. There’s been a lot of changes throughout my rookie season, now there’s a different coaching staff, offensive coordinator. I’m excited for it. I think it’s a change that will bring success to us [and] I think we’re getting the right people in the right spots.”
Q: How does it feel to have a coach that doesn’t come from a tree, he’s going to build the offense around your strengths?
RO: “It’s a big thing. It gives us confidence because he’s not going to just copy and paste the success he had in Detroit—that scheme he had in Detroit—but kind of build it for us and build it in a way that allows us to show our strengths so, I think that’s a big part of it … All the trick plays, we’re here for it. It’s definitely exciting.”
Former Bears, Panthers tight end and NFL analyst Greg Olsen: “It’s huge. Ben Johnson, he’s been the bell of the ball the last couple hiring cycles, been very selective on where he wanted to go, turned down a lot of jobs he could have easily gotten over the last couple years so, I give Chicago a lot of credit. Their ability to land him to go along with the young quarterback, the young offensive weapon. I saw DJ Moore earlier walking around and you can just see, guys are excited. The track record, the resume speaks for itself. He’s the guy everybody wanted it seemed, and Chicago was able to land him.”
Q: What does he do for Caleb Williams?
GO: “The future of your organization is directly tied to the development of your young quarterback, whether he’s the first overall pick or the last pick, it doesn’t matter. You’re only going to go as far as the development of your young quarterback. You just look at the job he’s done with Jared Goff and the way they’ve developed that offense around his strengths in Detroit. It’s pretty clear from his introductory press conference he’s going to take the same approach building the offense around the strengths and weaknesses of Caleb Williams, who’s a young player that’s going to continue to get better and evolve—his track record suggests if anyone can do it, it’s him.”
Member of 1985 Bears, former NFL head coach Ron Rivera: “A couple things didn’t happen that they needed to happen last year so, they went out and found a guy that’s had success coaching quarterbacks. I think that’s a great move. Now, we’re going to find out whether this is the right quarterback. Ben Johnson’s record and what he did in Detroit stands alone. You look at how Jared Goff has played the last few years under Ben’s direction. It tells you that Caleb’s got an opportunity … I think Ben Johnson is going to come through and Caleb is going to have an opportunity to reset.”
Ryan Poles
Three-time Pro Bowl Bears guard Kyle Long: “Ryan Poles, I spent time with him in Kansas City, prior to him becoming the GM in Chicago and I’ve loved everything he’s done. People are always going to have complaints and issues with something. It wouldn’t be the NFL if people weren’t complaining about something. But one thing we know is, we are getting better. We really are and now, we have a great coach to couple with that.”
Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager: “Before the Luka [Doncic] trade, we were saying the trade he made two years ago was the best trade of the century. So, it didn’t work out last year. Now, you [get] a new lease on life with a new coach. We’ll see how it goes. But if you told me he was in charge of the coaching search, and all these other teams are looking to get this great, young, offensive coach — he got him. He landed him.
“I might come off as a homer. I know Ryan [Poles] well, but I think he has done a pretty good job building a roster, and if the coaching search was on him, they did a nice job building out that staff.”
Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach: “You come into a new city, a new organization, it’s a matter of starting at the grassroots and getting the culture right. I know he’s done a great job with some of the roster turnover and building that thing and acquiring new talent. I’m excited for him, for the coaching conditions he’s made. I mean, he’s made some outstanding hires and I think that’s going to go well with the players he’s added over the years. I’m sure that’s a sign of really good things to come in the future.”