Caleb Williams became angry as soon as he hung up on a FaceTime call with a group of kids, thinking he was about to talk to Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Williams received a text message from an unknown number claiming to be Johnson, and the posing individual claimed he was taking the Chicago Bears' vacant head coaching position.
Johnson, an offensive expert in the Motor City, is viewed as one of the top prizes on this year's coaching carousel.
Williams, Chicago's starting quarterback, was excited to work with Johnson, and he only realized he had been pranked. after trying to chat with Johnson live.
After a random unidentified boy was on the other end of the line, Williams spent about 30 seconds on the phone with him before hanging up, remaining calm until the call ended.
'All that night I was receiving text messages. Obviously I was getting spam calls from all my friends, like, 'No way,'” Williams said on St. Brown's podcast. 'I didn't respond to any text messages. I was so angry. Sozzled! When I hung up the call, I was furious. I wanted to smash some shit. I was furious.'
Caleb Williams got angry as soon as he hung up a FaceTime call with a group of kids
Williams received a text message from an unknown number claiming to be Lions OC Ben Johnson.
'The text was very official. Like he got that text from college coaches and other coaches before he got drafted and all that. … He seemed like a crazy professional.”
'I don't know. I've had the number for probably 15 years. I don't have it anymore. New number. But I've had it for 15 years and so on. I don't know. Someone must have given it to him. Someone must have said something, or got lucky and dialed the number.
Williams also revealed that he tried to text Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to confirm it was Johnson's number before the FaceTime, and the Detroit star didn't respond before the quarterback of the Bears would get impatient and call out the imposter.
However, even after his immediate anger, Williams is now cooler-headed about the situation.
'I'm not going to lie. It was a classic joke. “It was a grade A, level S prank,” Williams added. 'I have to give them props. I wasn't locked in at the time.'
The Bears have yet to hire a new head coach, and Johnson remains a possibility. The offensive coordinator couldn't make that move until the Lions are out of the postseason, which could take up to four weeks.