Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has dealt with the in-season firings of both offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus during what’s become a frustrating rookie season.
On Wednesday, Williams spoke with reporters for the first time since Eberflus was shown the door following Chicago’s loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
“It’s interesting,” Williams said of Eberflus’ firing, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin shared. “…It’s tough. He’s a reason of why I’m here. He drafted me. And so going through that and that process is interesting for me.”
The Bears fired Waldron amid a three-game losing streak that dropped the club to 4-5. Chicago subsequently suffered three straight one-score defeats, and it’s now clear that Eberflus lost his locker room before he was dismissed with the team at 4-8.
Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown served as Chicago’s offensive play-caller following Waldron’s firing and will now finish the campaign as interim head coach.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m happy for it,” Williams said about what he’s experienced since Week 1. “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, handle this first year and being able to grow from it.”
Chicago made Williams the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and many predicted in the closing days of summer that he would win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Per the StatMuse website, Williams began Thursday ranked third among first-year quarterbacks with 2,612 passing yards and 14 passing touchdowns for the season. He’s fourth among qualified rookies with an 86.1 passer rating.
On Thursday, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders as the betting favorite at -250 odds to claim Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors. Williams was at +6000 odds that morning.
“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 added during his comments. “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.”
As for what’s next for Williams and Co., numerous stories have linked the Bears with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson could be the most coveted candidate in the upcoming head coach hiring cycle and has been credited with helping Detroit’s Jared Goff emerge as a top-tier quarterback.
