Last year’s addition of Caleb Williams, whom the Chicago Bears hope will be a franchise quarterback, raised their preseason expectations, and they began the 2024 regular season at +3500 to win the Super Bowl. That was up from +6000 in 2023 and +12000 in 2022.
As we now know, the Bears needed so much more than Williams. He didn’t set the world on fire, like many predicted. But he did show growth as a rookie, throwing just one interception over his last 11 games after five interceptions in his first six games.
Two of his best games in the second half of the season came against two of his toughest opponents – 340 yards and two touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings, and 334 yards and two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions.
Williams was not the problem, and he was not why the Bears lost 10 games in a row, and he is not why they were a Super Bowl afterthought by the end of October. This team was leaderless, and even more so after they fired head coach Matt Eberflus after Week 13.
New Leader, New Hope
If you enjoyed the Caleb Williams-led hype train last year, get ready for a ride on the Ben Johnson train. The much-desired offensive coordinator for the Lions the last three seasons has been hired by the Bears to be their new head coach. Or it might be more accurate to say, Johnson has picked the Bears.
He was wanted in Las Vegas, and with Tom Brady now part of the Raiders ownership, it was thought they might get him. He also interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But in the end, Johnson is going with the Bears.
It might be because as a Lions assistant coach he is familiar with the Bears. It probably has more to do with what Chicago has at quarterback, and what the Raiders do not.
Williams has been interested in teaming with Johnson since the hiring cycle began, telling reporters, “During our game, I would sit back and watch and try to learn something while I watch. It was fascinating to watch, because he always had wrinkles, counters and things like that throughout the game. I think he’s obviously done really well, so it’d be cool to see how it all goes down.”
It has gone down with Johnson moving to the other side of Lake Michigan and becoming the 19th head coach in Bears history, and ninth since Mike Ditka. And it has resulted in a significant bump in 2025 expectations for the Chicago Bears.
Last week, when the expectation was that Johnson might not be available for a few weeks because the Lions would still be playing, the Bears were paying +6000 to win Super Bowl LX. Johnson suddenly became available, the Bears made their move rather quickly, and now those odds are at +4000.
The Bears, who finished the season with a 5-12 record — as many wins as the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints — are now tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings on the Super Bowl odds board.
The quarterback couldn’t do it alone. Let’s see if he and the coach can do it together.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
