Caleb Williams' rookie season with the Chicago Bears may not have gone exactly how the team was expecting, however, there were enough signs in Williams' performance to prove that the team made the right decision in moving on from Justin Fields.
After spending a season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fields inked a two-year deal with the New York Jets this offseason. For the first time since his second season with the Bears, Fields is with a team that has a firm belief that he can be their long-term starting quarterback.
While the Bears decided Williams over Fields last offseason, one of their newest assistant coaches had to make the same decision this offseason. While speaking at the NFL's Owner Meetings this week, first-year head coach Ben Johnson revealed that J.T. Barrett was deciding between roles with the Bears' coaching staff or the New York Jets.
Ben Johnson said Aaron Glenn also wanted J.T. Barrett in New York and Barrett had a decision to make.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) April 1, 2025
Interestingly, had he chosen the Jets, Justin Fields would be his QB. Instead, Barrett is Caleb Williams' QB coach in Chicago.
Of course, earlier this offseason, the Jets hired former Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their head coach. Given that Barrett was a member of the Lions' coaching staff prior to this offseason, it makes sense that he was deciding between roles with either Johnson or Glenn.
Bears' QB coach leaves no doubt that Caleb Williams is better than Justin Fields
Surely, Barrett's decision was not strictly tied to coaching Williams or Fields. Assuming that Barrett wants to ascend toward being an offensive coordinator in the NFL, and eventually, a head coach, it makes sense that he would continue his work under Johnson. Considering Fields did not sign with the Jets until March, it's just a coincidence that Barrett would have been working with one of the two most recent Bears' starting quarterbacks.
While also speaking at the Owner Meetings this week, Johnson also confirmed that the Bears will be limiting the amount of coaches who will be working directly with Williams. The three coaches who Johnson mentioned will have direct conversations with Williams are himself, Barrett, and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle.
If nothing else, Johnson's coaching staff is providing a unified front for Williams. That wasn't the case last season under former head coach Matt Eberflus and former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. There never appeared to be a collaboration between Williams and his former coaching staff.