When it comes to the explosive Caleb Williams' revelations that made headlines at the end of last week, there is a very much an aspect of all is that that ends well.
While there may have been an initial shock from Bears fans, realizing their deepest fears from last offseason were true, we have reached the point where Williams is still the Bears' quarterback, Ben Johnson is the Bears' head coach, and the offensive line has been dramatically improved. The Bears have done this offseason what they should have done last offseason.
The tone of this offseason has been to ensure that Williams is bought into the direction of the franchise.
Johnson's hiring certainly was the biggest component of that movement. However, our friends at The Viking Age remind us of the Kevin O'Connell rumor that was making the rounds during the early months of the offseason. O'Connell has since signed a multi-year extension with the Vikings, but prior to that agreement, there were whispers in January that teams were interested in trading for the head coach.
The Chicago Bears likely wanted to complete an NFC North coup
It had to be known by Ryan Poles' front office that Williams thought highly of O'Connell. After all, the Bears' quarterback did say this about the Vikings' head coach during the season.
“Yeah, when you get a guy like him – his guys love him,” Williams told reporters after a loss to the Vikings last season. “I have a few old teammates over there who talk about him, and they love him. … He’s been a great coach so far. Those were encouraging words.”
With that in mind, it seems obvious that the Bears were one of the teams that called the Vikings about O'Connell's availability this offseason. They might have even preferred O'Connell to Johnson. The Bears turned over every stone before they were allowed by the NFL to hire Johnson, and had O'Connell actually been available, a trade would have been a worthwhile route considering the quarterback success the Vikings' head coach has had. However, Johnson is quite the consolation prize.