Caleb Williams was pissed as soon as he hung up a FaceTime call with a bunch of kids, thinking he was about to speak with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Williams received a text from an unknown number claiming to be Johnson, with the posing individual claiming he was taking the vacant Chicago Bears’ head coaching job.
Johnson, an offensive savant in the Motor City, is seen as one of the main prizes of this year’s coaching carousel.
Williams, Chicago’s starting quarterback, was pumped to work with Johnson, with him only realizing he was pranked after trying to chat with Johnson live.
After a random unidentified kid was on the other line, Williams spent about 30 seconds on the phone with him before hanging up, keeping his cool until the call was over.
‘That whole night I was getting texts. I was obviously getting spam calls from all my friends, like, “No way,”‘ Williams said on the St. Brown podcast. ‘I didn’t respond to one text. I was so mad. Pissed! When I got off the call, I was fuming. I wanted to smash some s***. I was fuming.’
Caleb Williams was pissed as soon as he hung up a FaceTime call with a bunch of kids
Williams received a text from an unknown number claiming to be Lions’ OC Ben Johnson
“The text was so official. I’ve gotten that text from college coaches and other coaches before getting drafted and all that in different ways.”Bears QB Caleb Williams gives a play-by-play of getting tricked into thinking Ben Johnson was taking the Bears job. pic.twitter.com/rtVd8tvY96
— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) January 15, 2025
‘The text was so official. Like I’ve gotten that text from college coaches and other coaches before getting drafted and all of that. … It looked mad professional.’
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‘I don’t know. I’ve had the number for probably 15 years. I don’t have it no more. New number. But I’ve had it for 15 years and so. I don’t know. Somebody must’ve gave it to them. Somebody must’ve said something, or he got lucky and just dialed the number.’
Williams also revealed he tried to text Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to confirm it was Johnson’s number before the FaceTime, with the Detroit star not responding before the Bears quarterback got impatient and called the imposter.
Yet, even after his immediate rage, Williams now has a cooler head about the situation.
‘I ain’t gonna lie. It was a classic prank. It was a Grade A, S-tier prank,’ Williams added. ‘I gotta give them props. I wasn’t locked in in the moment.’
The Bears have yet to hire a new head coach, with Johnson still a possibility. The offensive coordinator could not make that move until the Lions are done with the postseason, which could be up to four weeks away.
