Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle highlighted that second-year quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams has spent extra time learning the new offense under head coach Ben Johnson.
After a rookie season in which Williams’ flashes were mired in too much inconsistency from and around him, the Bears hope they have gotten it right. Doyle’s experience tells him the Bears are on the right track with Williams. It is admittedly still very early in the process, though.
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Doyle arrived this offseason after spending 2024 as the Denver Broncos’ tight ends coach, giving him an adjacent seat to then-rookie QB Bo Nix’s development. Nix challenged for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors with a historic first season.
He also led the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season, albeit with an elite defense – but no running game and a questionable corps of pass catchers – around him.
Asked about any similarities he has seen so far, Doyle pointed to the totality of the Bears’ plan.
“I think building it around Bo was the biggest thing that we had in Denver,” Doyle told Clocker Sports on Saturday. “We’re trying to do the same thing here, where, as we go through OTAs and training camp, we’re going to have a better feel for, ‘This is actually what the offense looks like.’ We’re going to give them a lot, and then we’re going to narrow it down from there. I think that we’re in the process of doing that.”
The Bears upgraded the interior of their offensive line after Williams absorbed 68 sacks as a rookie. They traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. They also signed center Drew Dalman in free agency. Chicago then drafted tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Loveland joins an arsenal of playmakers at Williams’ disposal. The group is headlined by DJ Moore and Rome Odunze at wide receiver and, at least last season, Cole Kmet at tight end.
They drafted Luther Burden III and Kyle Monangai at receiver and tailback, respectively, too.
The former will compete behind Moore and Oduze. The latter could give starter D’Andre Swift and short-yardage specialist Roschon Johnson a run for snaps. None of it would seem as encouraging without Johnson, though.
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Johnson is why Doyle’s lack of experience is not a storyline. The same goes for the rest of the newly assembled coaching staff, which features several figures in first-time roles all trying to help rear a young QB.
Williams is at the heart of it all for the Bears.
Johnson is a first-time head coach who has been selective in years past about which position he would accept. Bears general manager Ryan Poles is looking to shed the stigma attached to him after his first head coach pairing collapsed in 2024.
Both men need Williams to take a significant step forward in Year 2. They are certainly giving him the tools.
It will be up to Williams to deliver for the Bears in 2025.