Caleb Williams Wowed Bears Teammates With His Classy Message After Team Fired OC

The rookie QB impressed his teammates with this move.
Caleb Williams's rookie year hasn't been very smooth
Caleb Williams's rookie year hasn't been very smooth / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Bears had a rocky week with head coach Matt Eberflus firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron just nine games into the season. The team embarks upon a Week 11 matchup with the Green Bay Packers hoping the move will light a fire under an offense that has failed Caleb Williams in just about every regard and, additionally, failed to reach the end zone since Week 8.

It remains to be seen if the change will help turn around Williams's rookie season under center but in the meantime the young QB wowed his teammates with his response to Waldron's firing. On Sunday, FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer revealed Williams got up in front of the team and apologized for his role in the offense's lack of production that led to his coach's dismissal.

"Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams actually got up in a team meeting after OC Shane Waldron was fired and APOLOGIZED for his part in the offense stalling enough where Waldron was fired," Glazer wrote on X. " Teammates were very impressed by the accountability and his decision to do that."

Williams has 1,785 yards passing so far in his first NFL season, with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He's also been sacked a league-leading 38 times. Chicago's offense checks in at 30th with 277.7 yards per game. No matter which way you slice it the Bears have been terrible on that side of the ball.

How much of that is Williams's fault is certainly up for debate. His talent is obvious enough that he went No. 1 in the 2024 NFL draft, but in football any one player can only do so much. This week will be telling in regards to how much Waldron's scheme was affecting Williams's development.

In the meantime it's clear the young quarterback garnered a lot of respect in the locker room with his apology.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.