Bear Digest

Caleb Williams Sees Coaching Change as No Obstacle to Development

It's not ideal but Bears QB Caleb Williams preferred to look ahead and referred to the coaching change as a learning moment rather than a stumbling block in his development.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams sets up to pass as former Bears pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad tries to pressure from behind.
Caleb Williams sets up to pass as former Bears pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad tries to pressure from behind. / David Reginek-Imagn Images
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All of the talk about what happened after the last Bears game and the aftermath with Matt Eberflus’ firing and Thomas Brown becoming the interim head coach is nice but the real issue of concern is obvious.

It’s how all of this can slow the development of quarterback Caleb Williams. After all, he’s technically on his third offensive coordinator in his rookie year because Chris Beatty is now the interim offensive coordinator. He’s on his second head coach in Brown.

Everyone worried about the way Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields would be affected simply by going from one offensive coordinator and head coach in their rookie years to another in their second year. And now Williams has it all done in one year.

“I think this is a stepping stone of development, to be able to have all of this in my first year,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say that I’m happy for it. Having these moments is definitely something that will help me in the future. Having these situational moments that it’s hard to rep in practice, having some of these moments, having your coach fired or coaches fired and people being promoted.

“You know, things like that all happening within a couple weeks of each other, you know I think it would help me in the long run being able to handle all of this, being able to handle this first year and being able to grow from it.”

He has a point. In Chicago it’s fairly common to have coaching changes, just not in-season.

So he’d better get used to it.

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“I think it is a stepping stone actually with my development because I think down the line I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be,” Williams said. “And so being able to handle it my first year, handle a new playbook, handle all these different changes, handle all of this I think it definitely will help the development instead of hurting it or anything like that.”

Williams took a pragmatic approach to it all.

“I would say that us players, we have to deal with it, we have to handle it, and then from there we’ve got to go out and win games,” Williams said. “And that’s the most important thing at the end of the day.”

Williams regretted his part in any firings, but understood the business as much as any rookie could.

“I’ve had similar situations in college with (coach) Lincoln (Riley) leaving and going to USC and I still stayed behind for just those last games or last game,” Williams said. “So similar situation, so I’m able to kind of go off of that a little bit.

“But obviously, it’s a little different when, now it’s the NFL and that’s a man that has a family, a man that ended up getting fired. There’s a human part to it. And there’s a business side, too, that you have to understand. Like I said, roll with the punches from there.”

Williams understood his part in the disaster at game’s end when they ran out of time with a timeout in their possession. He short-armed a pass to Keenan Williams that might have gone for a touchdown when he saw a defensive tackle closing in, and then sounded confused over the final sequence and the fact they had a timeout to use.

“I think at the end, I didn’t have enough tempo at the end of the game,” Williams said. “Definitely in that moment didn’t have enough tempo getting the guys lined up, them seeing my urgency, and I was moving pretty–I was moving well, but not as urgent as I should’ve, understanding the situation.

“At the end of the game, I also could’ve understood the situation a little bit better right then and there – of the play call. I thought when we called that last play, it was a no-huddle play that we wanted to get lined up. I saw the clock winding down and wanted to try to take a shot at the end zone, because I was expecting it to be our last play right in that moment. We were actually trying to get back in field goal range. Just not on the same page in that situation. Definitely can learn from it, definitely will learn from it, realizing that we march back down, we want to get (back) after the sack, we’re trying to get back in field goal range and call a timeout. So, just being on the same page of just what the situation was, being on the same page of what we’re actually going to do, whether it’s using the timeout after that last play when you get the first down or getting that yardage back or timeout-ing it right after the sack.”

Coach Thomas Brown isn’t worried about the impact of it all on Williams’ development.

“I get what you’re asking me as far as him being a rookie but I look at it from the standpoint of every player and what they can do better,” Brown said. “And it’s my job and also the rest of the coaches to try and figure out how to bring the best out of all of our players.

“So delivering the information, holding them accountable, lift them up when we need to lift them up, but again, those guys play together and they’ll play confident.”

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.