What Illinois football learned from a visit with Chicago Bears and Ben Johnson
'Seeing Caleb Williams up close is impressive': 1-on-1 with Bret Bielema | Chicago Sports Tonight
It's Illini night at Wrigley Field and Tina Nguyen goes 1-on-1 with head football coach Bret Beliema. They preview the Illini's upcoming season and the team's expectations heading into 2026. Bielema, who grew up as a Bears fan, also talks about attending Bears practice last week and what it was like to watch Caleb Williams in person.
There aren't many offseason days for anyone in college football these days. Coaches have to recruit, retain and teach.
Bret Bielema knows this. He's brought Illinois football to 19 wins in the past two seasons.
This spring, he was able to get his Illini coaching staff away from the college ranks. Specifically, he brought his staff to the Chicago Bears' organized team activities.
"This year, we were thinking about the Seahawks, the Bills and the Bears," Bielema said Tuesday. "The Bears' schedule looked the best."
Bielema was able to observe the Bears' practice, and got his offensive staff a chance to observe Bears' coach Ben Johnson and the offense he's utilizing at Halas Hall.
"The facilities they have, and obviously recognizing the organization of Ben and what he does on the field, is pretty impressive," Bielema said.
The backstory:
Bielema is no stranger to the NFL.
After he was dismissed as the head coach at Arkansas, he spent three years coaching in the NFL: two with the New England Patriots, where he won the Super Bowl LIII, and one year with the New York Giants as their defensive line coach.
But, his connections run a bit deeper.
Bielema said he shares an agency with former Bears' assistant general manager and current Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham. When he was in Chicago, Cunningham extended an offer for Bielema to visit before.
The schedules didn't align then. But, they did now.
"Ian hooked me up with Ben," Bielema said. "That's kind of how it manifested."
Big picture view:
Bielema got a chance to watch how the Bears operate. Having spent time in the NFL, he knows what that looks like.
Facilities in the NFL are different from the college ranks.
The coaching is different, too. Bielema was impressed with how Johnson ran his practices. He was also impressed with Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams, telling FOX 32 about how
"I saw him in college obviously, and then in the NFL," Bielema said. "To see him live, just his overall arm talent is pretty impressive. I think you can tell when players respect their coaches and you could see the respect level of what he was doing and trying to appease his coaches."
Bielema also brought six coaches with him: Two from his offensive staff, two from his defensive staff and two special teams coaches.
The two offensive coaches – pass game coordinator Mike Neu and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. – both had a chance to reconnect with some old colleagues and to see what they could take away from the Bears. Bielema said Neu had worked with Bears' offensive line coach Dan Roushar in New Orleans before.
"I know Barry had studied them quite a bit when we knew we were going," Bielema said. "There's a lot of connections there that they were able to help with."
It remains to be seen how much Johnson's offense carries over to Champaign, but the Illini had a chance to see a professional offense up close. Especially one that features creative run-blocking schemes.
"I know Barry and Mike really enjoyed their time there, especially offensively," Bielema said.