Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a turbulent rookie season in 2024, especially as a 10-game losing streak followed a 4-2 start. Two head coaches and three offensive coordinators later, Williams also surely learned some hard lessons last season.
An off-the-field lesson Williams has certainly learned came when excerpts from the book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback" by ESPN's Seth Wickersham surfaced in May. Williams' father gave his opinion that "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die", and Williams said he was left to watch film with no guidance from coaches.
Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, now the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, eventually dismissed Williams' assertion that he was left to watch film alone during the 2022 season. Former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, now on the Jacksonville Jaguars' coaching staff, has not had any known comments about it.
More directly, excerpts from Wickersham's book revealed Williams did not want to be drafted by the Bears. A less-than-ideal history of developing quarterbacks was likely a factor, but there had to be some other reason behind his hesitancy.
It has also been fair to assume we'd never quite know the full picture there.
Caleb Williams knew very early it would not work with Shane Waldron
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Turron Davenport have done a deep dive into the dynamics of working with a No. 1 overall pick quarterback. The two most recent before Cam Ward this year, Williams in 2024 and Bryce Young in 2023, were featured prominently.
Williams' difficulty communicating with the Bears' coaching staff last season was used as a direct contrast to what Ward has going early with the Tennessee Titans, with some extra insight into why it went so wrong for Williams last year.
"A source with direct knowledge of Williams' predraft process said Williams' fact-finding mission about his new team soured him on Waldron, who was the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator before joining Chicago in January 2024. Among chief concerns, the source said, were whether personalities would jell and how Waldron would use him."
"Whoever he talked to in Seattle didn't give him the best reviews," the source said.
Fowler previously reported how members of Eberflus' staff didn't like what Williams said about watching film with no guidance. But there's blame to go around for how last season went, and that coaching staff deserves it's fair share.
"The Bears found out early that the combination of Waldron and Eberflus wouldn't be strong enough for Williams. As one team source put it, the staff projected the feeling of, "We will figure it out, he's a rookie," whereas more direct tutelage on the basics of quarterback play was needed. It's also notable that the Bears did not have another veteran on the roster for Williams to lean on, which multiple sources found problematic."
"Williams told Wickersham he had to watch game film alone, without guidance from the staff, which rankled some members of Eberflus' staff who saw accountability issues in that statement. But rookie seasons are about survival, and quarterbacks need support systems to tread water."
Eberflus fired Waldron last November, and then Eberflus was fired after a Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions.
Eberflus was not made available to comment for ESPN's story, and Waldron declined the opportunity to comment. As expected on both accounts.
Erik Lambert of Sports Mockery did a little digging of his own in light of ESPN's story.
"I reached out to a source regarding the situation. It turns out that (it was) former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who sold Eberflus on Waldron. This was despite the team’s gathered evidence that Seattle players hated the former offensive coordinator. Even Waldron himself mentioned that issue. Geno Smith’s success was the primary thing that pushed it over the finish line. Waldron got most of the credit for that, which many believe was mistaken. What followed was 11 games of almost pure misery for Caleb Williams. Waldron was clearly in over his head trying to develop a rookie quarterback, not crafting a proper plan or providing the necessary discipline young players need."
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As the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, Williams didn't have any choice about where he was drafted unless he wanted to pull an Eli Manning and refuse to play for the Bears. So he did some digging, and didn't like what he learned about Waldron. Turns out he knew well ahead of time how things would turn out, as the Eberflus-led Bears' coaching staff was (unsurprisingly) ill-equipped to put a rookie quarterback on the right track.