Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel knows almost exactly what the Bears are going through as quarterback Caleb Williams and new coach Ben Johnson try to get on the same wavelength. They’re laying the groundwork for what they hope is an enduring connection, and it starts with seeing the game the same way so that Williams is an extension of Johnson on the field.
That process is complicated and turbulent.
McDaniel went through it in 2022 when he took over the Dolphins and inherited quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick two years earlier.
There was quite a bit of confrontation along the way, but it made Tagovailoa better: He was top-10 in MVP voting the first season, a Pro Bowl selection the next and the NFL leader in completion percentage after that. His passer rating went from 88.8 before McDaniel’s arrival to 102.5 since.
As McDaniel thought about Williams — he met him nearly a decade ago while coaching at a QB Collective camp and has followed his career closely — and Johnson trying to figure each other out, he urged them to embrace inevitable conflict as a path to growth.
“To get to the spot that you need to, Caleb is going to be challenged, and then [Johnson’s] true intent of how you’re coaching and what your motivations are come through when you go through stuff together,” McDaniel said.
“It may seem in the short term that, from the player’s perspective, the coach is coming at you — or from the coach’s perspective, the player might be getting sensitive or misinterpreting you. There’s no way around it; you have to go straight through those types of scenarios because a real relationship is developed not in perfect conditions, but by going through stuff together.”
McDaniel philosophized eloquently on the subject for a few minutes before concluding, “Ultimately, you have to go to a place where there’s a little friction before you can really work with true transparency, clarity and efficiency.”
Those are wise words for Johnson and Williams from someone several steps ahead of them in his work with Tagovailoa.
Williams and most of the Bears’ starters won’t play when they host the Dolphins in their preseason opener Sunday, but he’ll still get a valuable lesson in his first opportunity to listen to Johnson call a game.
It’ll be another step toward aligning their visions, which can be a tough adjustment even for veteran quarterbacks. When Williams heard McDaniel’s comments, he smiled and nodded emphatically in confirmation. He and Johnson have had some arguments already and each moved them closer to understanding each other.
“Because Ben and I care so much and are so passionate about winning, we’ve had a few moments where we clash,” Williams told the Sun-Times. “It’s not a clash like, ‘I hate you.’ It’s like a brotherly clash. You’re just two fiery people getting after it. You love each other and you care for each other, and you also care about where you’re at and what you’re doing.
“Those moments are important. Ben and I actually clashed recently, and I ended up being wrong. Then we sat and discussed the moment and what he wants from me, and you just keep moving along… It was more like, ‘I understand, I get it.’ I want that moment.”
Williams wanted expert coaching last season, when he was up and down as a rookie and didn’t seem to get much help from coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who were fired in November. He never threw them under the bus publicly, but when he talks about Johnson, it’s easy to infer that he wasn’t getting what he needed from his previous coaches.
“It’s what I was craving — the consistent, hard coaching and the consistent knowledge that he gives me,” Williams said of Johnson.
Most importantly, perhaps, is that Williams trusts what Johnson tells him even if he doesn’t love hearing it at the time.
He already has seen enough to be certain that Johnson is “a smart, smart, smart coach and a great guy,” and can draw a straight line from things Johnson says in meetings to what happens on the practice field. Disputes and all, Williams said, “It’s been working, it’s been enjoyable, and a lot more smiles for me than last year.”
Williams’ job is to listen and learn like Tagovailoa did, but it’s hardly a one-way street. Johnson spent the last four seasons coaching Jared Goff with the Lions, and he’d be hardheaded to force Williams into that mold. They are totally different players, and Johnson said from the start he wasn’t going to simply drop the Detroit playbook on the table.
Johnson is tasked with championing Williams without placating him. He should be his biggest supporter, but also someone who persistently gives him the hard truth when he gets it wrong. No coach in the league is more known for getting that part right than McDaniel.
Going too far in either direction can ruin a quarterback. Eberflus and Waldron didn’t give Williams nearly the accountability he needed last season, and he sometimes didn’t realize he was doing something wrong because of it. Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores tilted so egregiously the other way that Tagovailoa called him “a terrible person,” and McDaniel needed to boost his belief.
“You’re measuring something that you can’t totally measure — you have to build confidence while creating the relationship of accountability,” McDaniel said. “It’s a fine line that you have to assess off the player’s confidence, because you’re not getting anything close to what you want from a quarterback unless they are playing confident.”
Confidence probably hasn’t been an issue for Williams since he was 10 and decided he needed to play quarterback if he wanted control over wins and losses. Self-assurance won’t be a problem. And as long as he’s receptive to Johnson’s critiques and willing to use “clashes” as building blocks, he has an opportunity to climb the way Tagovailoa did.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
