Even before Matt Eberflus was fired after the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, it was easy to tie Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears' head coaching job. The clearest sign he has interest in the job came when it was reported he will interview for it-on Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
One of the appealing aspects of the Bears' head coaching job is quarterback Caleb Williams. Before the Lions played the Bears at Soldier Field in December, Johnson praised Williams' throwing ability.
On Friday night, Williams was the subject of a prank.
The text message that has been shared, at 7:54 p.m. said, “Hey Caleb, this is Ben Johnson. Just wanted to reach out ahead of time before it gets released to the media, I will be taking the HC job. Very excited to work with you in the future. Great things.”
Williams responded, as one might: "Actually? Ben."
"Yes. I wanted you to be the first to know. We will talk more as the season winds down", the prankster who shares a name with the Lions' offensive coordinator said in response.
“I’m def excited for the future! Let’s get this s**toing and turn it around n do what hasn’t been done in years! In the meantime!! F****ing go kill! We’ll talk soon!” Williams responded.
Caleb Williams somehow falls for Ben Johnson prank
The prankster then got Williams on a FaceTime call, where he revealed the prank.
"Hey, you’re a great QB but I’m so glad you’re going to get a new head coach,” the fan said. “I don’t know if it’s Ben Johnson, but I’m sorry about this.”
Williams was a good sport about it, as seen below.
Someone named Ben Johnson pranked Caleb Williams as “Ben Johnson” and that he got the #Bears HC Job. He even got Caleb on Facetime 😭
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) January 11, 2025
(🎥 @ChiTownnSports) pic.twitter.com/WpK5oZatrD
The question is how Williams got duped like this. Anyone who had an interest in finding it when Johnson was interviewing the Bears could have found it easily (Schefter reported the interview is happening Saturday morning, and the Bears have confirmed the completion of the interview).
Williams surely knows no head coaching candidate would say they're taking the job before interviewing, right? The Bears may also be keeping him abreast of what's going on with the schedule for head coaching interviews (who and when).
So it almost seems like Williams was in on the prank?...