Caleb Williams is having an eventful offseason. He’s entering his second season with the Chicago Bears under new head coach Ben Johnson. The former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator gets a lot of credit for being the architect of their high-powered offense and rebuilding quarterback Jared Goff’s career.
Like Goff once did, Williams is entering his first season with Johnson after having a subpar year. The ballyhooed first overall pick from 2024 threw for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns against just six interceptions but took a whopping 68 sacks.
The Bears’ offensive line was problematic, but those sacks pointed to larger questions surrounding Williams’ decision-making and the effectiveness of former head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in developing Williams’ skills.
Wait, Were Eberflus and Waldron Not Teaching Caleb Williams?
Eberflus and Waldron were the subjects of withering criticism over Williams’ progress. Former quarterback Robert Griffin III called their handling of Williams “coaching malpractice.”
To make matters worse, it’s been revealed in a soon-to-be-published book by Seth Wickersham, that Williams claims that coaches wouldn’t hold one-on-one film sessions with him saying, “no one tells me what to watch,” and that he “would just turn (the film) on,” and study alone. What’s more, Wickersham reveals that Williams and his father, Carl, explored every avenue possible to avoid playing for the Bears.
NFL commentator and announcer, Ross Tucker takes issue with the Williamses rather than Eberflus or Waldron.
“I’m concerned that he was telling a writer, he and his dad were telling a writer he didn’t want to play for the Bears,” Tucker said. “What is his awareness rating on Madden? Because whatever it is, it should go down.”
“And then all of this talk about how nobody taught him how to watch film,” Tucker said. “First of all, there’s plenty of NFL quarterbacks that watch film by themselves … You should be watching film by yourself. And it’s kind of insulting, I think, to Lincoln Riley. I mean, the guy gets every Heisman trophy winner, every number one overall pick, and everybody’s supposed to feel bad for Caleb Williams because he, nobody was watching film with him?”
“I'm MUCH more concerned that he and his dad were telling a WRITER that he didn't want to play for the Bears…”
“There's plenty of NFL quarterbacks that watch film by themselves. You SHOULD be watching film by yourself…”@RossTuckerNFL on the Caleb Williams report from… https://t.co/DqZ6BMNb7T pic.twitter.com/8MKO24Bhnj
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod)
Under Riley at Oklahoma and USC, Williams torched college defenses for 10,082 passing yards, 93 passing touchdowns and a Heisman Trophy.
However, Wickersham’s upcoming book reports that when it became clear the Bears would be in line to draft Williams, he and his dad looked into signing with the UFL or CFL. They seriously considered legal action to challenge the NFL Draft‘s legality by arguing that it violates U.S. labor laws by restricting players’ ability to choose their employer.
Ultimately, Williams accepted his draft position, signed, and played with the Bears in 2024. His new head coach, Johnson, has told reporters that his young quarterback is all-in regarding the team.
Caleb is still represented by his father, Carl.