They still need to prove themselves on the field, but the Chicago Bears have the look of a team about to take a massive leap forward in 2025. They hired the top head coaching candidate that the league has seen in years. Then GM Ryan Poles pulled on every lever available to him to improve a porous offensive line. And the cherry on top was the addition of not one but two dynamic pass catchers to an already excellent group.
For this reason, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky has named Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams as the quarterback under the most pressure to be great in 2025. You can listen to his full remarks below.
It's hard to disagree with Orlovsky on this one, especially when you listen to his reasoning. He mentions the offensive line and the pass catchers, both of which have seen significant upgrades this offseason, but the point that Orlovsky really emphasized is the most important one of all: the coaching.
Ever since Matt Eberflus became the first head coach of the Chicago Bears to be fired midseason, the public has heard nothing but bad things about how he ran this team. From chaos at the offensive coordinator position to no one helping him learn how to watch film at the NFL level. It was incompetence at best and malpractice at worst.
But for the first time in what felt like decades, the Bears did the obviously correct thing when looking for a new head coach. They shelled out a record amount of money for a first-time head coach and landed the most sought-after candidate in years, a guy who many believe is one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL.
The impact of hiring Ben Johnson to coach up Caleb Williams cannot be understated. Johnson has already proven capable of developing a former first-overall pick into a viable MVP candidate; he just did that with Jared Goff over three seasons at Detroit, and Williams is substantially more physically talented than Goff.
Caleb Williams has what it takes to meet or exceed any expectation
Some fans may caution against putting too much pressure on Caleb Williams, given his youth. To that, I say that no one can possibly put more pressure on Williams than Williams himself. He had the gumption to make winning 8 Super Bowls, one more than Tom Brady, as one of his career goals before he ever took an NFL snap.
The pressure is on whether the fans want it or not. The good news? Williams is more than capable of meeting the sky-high expectations placed on him. So take a deep breath, Bears fans. The kid's going to be alright.
