Williams reacts to Eberflus firing, his third offensive coordinator this year |
CHICAGO—Developing a rookie quarterback is supposed to involve consistency and quality coaching. Chicago has lacked both of these.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is already on his second head coach and third offensive coordinator, and his rookie season is not even over. “I have to roll with the punches … It’s interesting. It’s tough. (Head coach Matt Eberflus is) the reason why I’m here. He drafted me. So, going through that and that process is interesting for me,” Williams said. “I’ve had similar situations in college with (offensive coordinator) Lincoln (Riley) leaving and going to USC and I still stayed behind for (that) last game. 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 it’s a man that has a family, a man that ended up getting fired. There’s a human part to it. There’s a business side to it that you have to understand. Roll with the punches from there.” This season has been a year of turmoil. The season was mostly stagnant under offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, resulting in his termination. Thomas Brown was elevated from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator; Chicago’s offense received new life after that change occurred. Once Eberflus was fired, Brown became Williams’ second head coach of the season, and Chris Beatty was elevated from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator. There is a lot of concern that all of this upheaval will hamper Williams’ development as an elite NFL quarterback. However, Williams does not share that concern and actually believes this adversity will benefit him in the long term. “I think this is a stepping stone of development to be able to have all of this in my first year. I wouldn’t say that I’m happy for it, but having these moments is definitely something that will help me in the future. Having these situational moments that (are) hard to rep in practice, having some of these moments, having your coach (fired) and people being promoted and things like that all happening within a couple weeks of each other,” Williams said. “I think (will) help me in the long run, being able to handle all of this, handle this first year and being able to grow from it. I think it is a stepping stone with my development because I think down the line, I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be 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.” The breaking point leading to Eberflus’ termination was how the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions ended. Chicago had 32 seconds left and a timeout; there is no reason they should have run only one play and not used the timeout. Like any player with class, Williams has put the ending of that game entirely on himself instead of throwing Eberflus under the bus. “I didn’t have enough tempo at the end of the game, definitely in that moment. Didn’t have enough tempo getting the guys lined up, them seeing my urgency and I was moving (well), but not as urgent as I should have, understanding the situation. At the end of the game, I also could have (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 and 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 (in) that moment,” Williams said. “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, defensively will learn from it, realizing that we marched back down. (After) the sack, we’re trying to get back in field goal range, calling the timeout and so, just being on the same page of what the situation was, be on the same page of what we’re actually doing to do whether it’s using the timeout after that last play after getting a first down or getting that yardage back or timeouting it or right after the sack or whatever the case may be. Just in total, being on the same page with the coach.” With a 4-8 record, the Bears have a positive point differential, which is practically unheard of. Six of Chicago’s eight losses have been one-possession games. In the last three games, the Bears have lost by a total of seven points. While these losses have been heartbreaking, Williams said they are also a testament to how Chicago keeps fighting. However, he also acknowledges there are numerous things the Bears need to work on. “I think a team with this record, the things that have gone down. If there was a division, like a heavy split between the team, I think we wouldn’t be fighting the way we do at the end of games, during games, whatever the case may be,” Williams said. “Obviously, there’s things that we need to fix, things that were (going to) fix to get rolling and it starts with everything that (Brown) said - accountability and unifying and all these different things and so, I think that’s where I feel the team is at. I do understand that our record doesn’t say how we fight, doesn’t say all these different things. But, when you go watch these games and you watch this team, we fight all the way to the end. Us being together, us fighting and all of that is just going to keep growing and (I) can’t wait.” Chicago will face a heavily depleted San Francisco 49ers this coming Sunday (3:25 p.m. / FOX). The 49ers will be without their top two running backs and could also be without defensive end Nick Bosa and offensive lineman Trent Williams. Nine other players were on the injury report Wednesday, including quarterback Brock Purdy with a right shoulder injury. However, Purdy practiced in full, so the Bears will probably be facing him. Purdy has never defeated an NFC North team.
