Caleb Williams handed warning by Bears head coach with Year 3 priorities laid out

Expectations are high for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears in Year 3.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft had a breakout Sophomore season in 2025.

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Williams set the Bears’ single-season franchise record for passing yards, racking up 3,942 en route to topping the NFC North with an 11-6 record and making the playoffs.

Once in the postseason, he led a stunning comeback from 21-6 down against the rival Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in the Wild-Card Round.

He threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:43 remaining to secure Chicago’s first playoff win since 2010.

The Bears fell to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime a week later, but Williams had announced himself regardless, and is now touted as the quarterback who can lead a once-great franchise to Super Bowl glory for the first time in four decades.

Much of Williams’ breakout success can be credited to Ben Johnson, who also impressed in his first year as a head coach.

Now, he wants to see his franchise star take the next step in 2026.

Ben Johnson sends Caleb Williams warning over Year 3 expectations

“Everyone knows what the expectations are in the building, what meetings look like,” Johnson said, as the Bears returned to OTAs last week, via the Chicago Sun-Times.

“There’s just a different level of, I don’t want to say comfort, but they know. They know what it’s supposed to look like.”

In his early NFL career, Williams has already established a reputation for coming up big when it matters most.

He’s moved to trademark the ‘Iceman’ nickname, following that clutch showing against the Packers in the playoffs.

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Caleb’s quarterback coach has already outlined how he can reach another level and next season, Johnson wants to see his QB grow to be a sharp, commanding leader on the field too.

“We struggled to break the huddle at times last year in the spring and in training camp,” the Bears HC explained.

“One day down, we didn’t have that issue.

“The communication in the huddle, what it looks like to break the huddle, the urgency to the line of scrimmage, the tempo that we want to stress the defense with, the quarterback plays a huge part in that.

“He orchestrates the whole operation. And those guys have taken that to heart and so from that aspect, feel really good about where we’re at. Now, it’s the next level of each concept.

“‘What are we trying to do?’ And potentially expanding on, ‘Hey, here’s your progression, 1, 2, 3,’ to how can we accelerate our eyes, our vision? What are we looking for? Some coverage indicators to where we might take more alerts.”

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With Coach Johnson and Williams heading into their second year together, and with a whole summer ahead of them, the Bears will be expecting big things in 2026.

Last season saw Chicago’s first playoff win for 15 years, so the team will be eyeing a deeper playoff run, and perhaps even a Super Bowl appearance, next February.

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