Caleb Williams
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Has Caleb Williams Lost His Bears Teammates?

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterNovember 12, 2024

The Bears are a hot mess right now, and the team’s struggling offense is the epicenter of those incendiary vibes. It was reported by Marc Silverman of ESPN’s Waddle & Silvy Show that several of Chicago’s veterans asked GM Ryan Poles on Monday to fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron or bench rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Waldron was dismissed after a nine-game stint as Luke Getsy’s replacement, and Thomas Brown is next man up. The Bears have gone two straight weeks without scoring a touchdown but the problems run much deeper than production, or lack of it.

  • The Bears’ offensive players appear to have quit on head coach Matt Eberflus. That includes Williams too. Chicago’s defense isn’t far behind.
  • Receivers Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, and Rome Odunze look like they’re not trying to create separation. They run similar routes with similar depths. That said, separation is nuanced. Pass catchers do not have the opportunity to create it on every play, whether that be because of the coverage deployed against them, because of other situational factors, or because the ball was thrown before the players entered the break in their routes. Still, it’s difficult to tell if Waldron’s offense was specifically schemed that way or if the receivers have given up on Williams.
  • The receivers and Williams are often out of sync. When Williams is ready to throw, nobody is ready to break. At other times, receivers are breaking, and he isn’t ready to throw. Williams and his receivers, particularly Moore, regularly disagree on landmarks, which leads to woefully inaccurate passes.
  • Quarterback guru Tim Jenkins criticized Chicago’s receivers for their performance against the Cardinals two weeks ago. Jenkins said the trio “lacked a competitive nature.” Other analysts and almost all of social media say Chicago’s receivers are running lazy routes.
  • Cole Kmet has been virtually ignored in the three games since Chicago’s bye. He’s caught three of five total targets against the Commanders, Cardinals, and Patriots. Kmet averaged 5+ targets per game last season. He has also yet to connect with Williams for a touchdown. Again, is that scheme-related, or do Kmet and Williams lack the connection Kmet enjoyed with Justin Fields?
  • Kmet acknowledged that the offense had “taken a pretty big step back” following their Week 7 bye. In layman’s terms, the Bears practiced poorly after traveling to London to play the Jaguars.
  • Moore’s body language is at worst telling and at best, a case of suboptimal optics. He was a big supporter of Fields and has never worked well with rookies or backups. Moore is also taking more verbal hits than he deserves, especially from fans, but he has every right to be frustrated. It’s not entirely the fault of the quarterback, however. The Bears have three outstanding receivers and none are playing to their strengths. See for yourself.

  • Moore succeeded last year because he was allowed to build up speed in his routes while avoiding contact, creating opportunities for big gains, especially with yards after the catch. Those are all of Moore’s strengths, but that’s Allen’s role this year. Moore has instead been pinned to the sidelines and forced into press coverage this year as an X-receiver. Allen is too slow to take that role from Moore, and he’s dropped too many passes this season. The receiver group is talented, but Moore is the true needle-mover. Why isn’t he the alpha in Chicago’s offense? Is that going to change now that Waldron is gone?
  • Still, Moore got a big contract extension after last season. He can pout about losing Fields and being forced to play with a rookie, but he’s getting an awful lot of money to help that transition. The veteran receiver has to be better and should be leading that group.
  • The Bears are worse statistically after swapping Getsy for Waldron. Williams failed to operate whatever it was Waldron called his offense. This year’s disposed OC was unable to mask Williams’ weaknesses or play to the quarterback’s attributes. The offensive line can’t block, whether healthy or not, and they fail nearly 100% of the time on stunts and blitzes. The receivers don’t know which routes to run, and finally, the Bears are taking too long to get ready for each snap. The offense looks too often like a failed fire drill, and it’s been said that Waldron’s play calls were “too wordy” to allow for adjustments.
  • Eberflus said at the time of Waldron’s hiring that the offensive coordinator was astute at adapting to game and personnel decisions. Finding explosive plays is critical to Waldron’s scheme. The Bears lacked that mercurial aspect in all but two games. A new coordinator will either expose or acquit Williams for Chicago’s lack of chunk yardage plays.
  • Waldron stopped doing the stuff that worked during Chicago’s three-game winning streak. That’s unfathomable, because why would he so blatantly expose Williams? I’d understand it if he had a big, prove-me-wrong personality like Buddy Ryan, but he doesn’t. What was he trying to accomplish?
  • None of this is Williams’ fault, but something still doesn’t pass the smell test. Chicago’s offense lacks unity and leadership. We aren’t privy to the huddle, but Williams seems like a capable leader when he speaks, and he carries himself that way, too. Why isn’t that reflected on the playing field? That might be the biggest indication that a problem exists. Then again, the malaise is so widespread it screams of mutiny against Eberflus. And if the collective is squarely anti-Williams, it’s up to the head coach and his staff to put an immediate stop to that behavior anyway.

  • If I want to reach beyond my depth, I’ll add that a friend who has a friend inside Halas Hall claims many of Chicago’s players dislike Williams. The word is that Williams shows no interest in Chicago’s offensive playbook and that he feels he’s above his coaches and his teammates. There are two ways to disseminate that information. First and foremost, my source refuses to name names, so it is 100% unverifiable. Then again, Williams entered the NFL with that distinction. That doesn’t mean it’s accurate because a player’s reputation often precedes the personality it’s attached to. Objectively speaking, Williams may be somewhat of a prima donna, and you’d need a strong argument to prove otherwise. However, I find it hard to believe a veteran hasn’t put Williams in his place if that’s the case. There are eight captains on this team. One of them has to be a leader, right?
  • So Waldron is gone, and Eberflus is on the shortest of leashes, and it’s Packer Week. Where does that leave the Bears? In 2023, the Panthers scored their most points in a 33-30 loss to Green Bay with Brown as Carolina’s OC. Bryce Young completed 23 of 36 passes for 312 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Wide receiver DJ Chark had six receptions for 98 yards and two scores. Then again…
  • Eberflus and Waldron have been accused of being overly careful with Williams to limit turnovers. That seems to have robbed Williams of the fire he played with at USC. That will change under Brown.“You can’t be scared to throw the football and take chances,” Brown said back in July. “You would never make any plays.”
  • Brown was lauded by Chicago’s players and seems fully prepared to fix the team’s offense. Is he capable of accomplishing that goal? Time will tell, but that outcome seems less than favorable based on previous results.

  • It’s unfortunate for Williams that he’ll be put on the spot during Brown’s eight-game audition. On the flip side, righting Williams will bode well for Brown next season. He could be on the team’s shortlist to replace Eberflus. If the Bears go in a different direction, the new OC — if he is successful — will be in high demand during January’s head coaching carousel.

Brown’s biggest obstacle will be changing the dynamic in the locker room and at Halas Hall. Getting the offense to mesh with Williams won’t be easy if the players are indeed tuning out Eberflus. If the young quarterback is to blame for Chicago’s mini-mutiny, that’s a completely different animal. That would fall on the shoulders of the entire operations staff, something that has plagued team chairman George McCaskey since he took over in 2011.

If that’s the case, the Bears should trade Williams this winter and sign a veteran in free agency. That’s not a forward-thinking option though. With few exceptions, the best teams develop homegrown quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, John Elway, and Peyton Manning are great examples. It is very rare to find someone as talented as Drew Brees available in trade or free agency, so whatever is ailing the Bears must be immediately corrected. If Williams has lost the respect of his teammates, it’s up to the entire team to force Williams to get it back. If the team cannot rediscover the unity it had before leaving London, Chicago will finish 4-13, and no player or coach will be a safe bet to return next season.

A team that was expected to compete for a playoff berth shouldn’t have identity and culture issues at the halfway point of the season. That will be the epitaph of the 2024 season if Chicago loses out.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterNovember 12, 2024
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