Caleb Williams received a series of phone calls Monday afternoon that elicited immediate emotion, followed by a sense of long-term clarity and anticipation.

The Bears quarterback's phone rang while he was driving down the highway in Florida. President & CEO Kevin Warren, chairman George H. McCaskey, general manager Ryan Poles and special advisor to the President/CEO and chief administrative officer Ted Crews were on the line. Calling from Halas Hall, the group told the 2024 No. 1 overall pick that Ben Johnson would be the team's new head coach.

Williams kept it cool, thanked the group, then let himself feel the weight of that news.

"I gave out a loud yell and scream of just excitement," Williams told reporters Wednesday. "[It] brings a bunch of clarity to the offseason. It brings a bunch of different things to the offseason. And I'm really excited about obviously the Bears and being able to make this happen, and keeping Ben Johnson as our coach for a long time."

Shortly after, his phone lit up again. It was Crews, who provided Williams with Johnson's correct phone number. Two weeks prior, Williams fell victim to an innocent prank when a group of teenage boys, pretending to be Johnson, texted him.

"I think the prank call was great PR," Williams told ChicagoBears.com. "In those texts, I think it showed how much excitement I had. For him to now be here, I still have the same excitement about it, if not more."

Before Williams could save Johnson's contact info, the former Lions offensive coordinator reached out himself. Having heard of the prank call, the new head coach sent Williams a selfie to verify his identity. Johnson then proceeded to video call Williams, where he expressed his excitement to make the move to Chicago and work with his new quarterback.

"We hopped on the phone, and we shared the same excitement for him being the coach here and us be able to grow and go on this journey together," Williams told ChicagoBears.com. "He has a sense of fire. You can see it in him, which, I would say I have a very similar fire. He has that competitiveness and a sense of no nonsense."

That phone conversation marked the first time Williams and Johnson ever spoke. Williams joked with reporters that after the Bears' games against the Lions last season, he tried to find Johnson and shake his hand, adding "I think he knew it was better not to probably shake my hand after the game in those moments."

Even through a phone, Williams could feel Johnson's excitement. His sense of urgency, his will and want to win became apparent.

What Williams also took from that conversation, as well as Johnson's introductory press conference — which Williams and teammates DJ Moore, Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze traveled to Halas Hall to attend — was the head coach's desire to create a winning culture built on trusting relationships and accountability.

"Our career here is gonna be important," Williams said. "It starts with Ben. There's a lot of people here, I get it. But it starts with Ben and the rest of the coaches that he brings along. Once we figure out exactly what his rules are and how everything goes, how it needs to be run, it bleeds into the players, and then from there it's in the locker room and now we have to take it and run with it from there. Keep leaning on each other. Keep growing and progressing."

Johnson made it clear to Williams that with accountability also comes a high level of support and constant connectivity between the coach-QB duo. Developing that integral relationship and path to being on the same wavelength"starts with building a offense with Williams and the unit's playmakers top of mind.

Johnson's scheme and playbook helped create unprecedented success for the Lions offense — a group that led the league in average points (30.1) and yards (402.2) per game over the past two seasons. In 2024, Detroit finished with a 15-2 record and second consecutive NFC North title in, was the league leader in touchdowns (68) and ranked second with 409.5 yards per game.

All of those impressive statistics create obvious excitement for what's hopefully to come for the Bears, but Johnson was clear that this offense will not look how it did in Detroit. That message lit a fire in Williams.

"He told me that it'll be my offense," Williams said. "He's going to build around me, but also, he's going to test me. He's going to challenge me in the offseason and things like that to what's worked and what works in the NFL and things he may want me to get better at. But at the end of the day, if that doesn't fit me, if it doesn't work with me, it won't be there — and our personnel overall.

"It brings another level of excitement because it's us. It's not when he was in Miami and their offense. It's not when he was with Detroit and their offense. It's the Chicago Bears and our offense and our personnel's offense."

Williams is more than ready for the challenge of learning a new playbook, gelling with a new coach and creating a new standard in the locker room. He's prepared to spend long hours and days with Johnson this spring and summer, eager to soak in the coach's lessons and learnings from his years of NFL experience.

As Williams looks ahead toward his sophomore season, now knowing who his leader and teacher will be, he has a general sense of his 2025 goals.

"For me, selfishly and unselfishly, is being able to be at my best each and every Sunday to help this team go out there and compete at a high level, to win games," Williams told ChicagoBears.com. "Go 1-0 each week, so at the end of it, if you go 1-0 each week and there's 20-something weeks with the playoffs, the outcome of it will be the one that everyone wants."