Bears coaches and teammates on Wednesday addressed recent reports that detailed the lengths Caleb Williams and his dad considered going to avoid him coming to Chicago in the 2024 NFL Draft.
According to a book set to be published in September, Williams wanted nothing to do with the Bears as last year’s draft approached, but things changed along the way.
“It’s come to my attention that the quarterback’s been out in the media over the last week,” head coach Ben Johnson said during a press conference Wednesday. “And, just to get in front of that a little bit, I just wanted to say… wasn’t here last year and so I can’t speak too much in terms of what it was like before he got here and when he got here last year, but from my four months on the job, he’s been outstanding to work with. And we just are focusing on getting a little better every day.”
Johnson said he spoke to Williams after the reports first surfaced.
“We talked about it last week after it came out, but, he’s his own man, he’s going to be treated as such. I think we’re both really looking forward to turning the page on years prior and focusing on the here and now,” Johnson said.
That’s good news for Williams, who reportedly had thoughts on the previous coaching staff.
In “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,” author and ESPN reporter Seth Wickersham describes how Williams and his father, Carl Williams, asked attorneys to find a workaround to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, explored signing with the United Football League and considered publicly ripping Chicago and the Bears to create an untenable situation for the team.
“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl Williams said ahead of the draft, according to the book.
Caleb Williams indicated to confidantes he didn’t think he could work with then-offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, but Bears general manager Ryan Poles told Williams the team was drafting him “no matter what.”
Williams eventually came to believe he could be the one to help turn the team around, telling his dad he “can do it for this team.”
And it appears he kept that mindset.
“You know, obviously I can’t speak for him. I can’t speak for his dad. But since he’s been in the building, since I’ve been around him, I haven’t noticed any of that. I think every single day he’s trying to get better,” said teammate Kevin Byard III, who also joined the Bears in the 2024 offseason. “He’s still a really good, talented young quarterback in his league, and he’s trying to get better every day. And that’s all I see from him. Just working every single day, staying late, obviously, and meeting with Ben and all those guys trying to, you know, trying to right the ship. We’re trying to right this organization, trying to right the culture.”
“You know, I had the pleasure, obviously, of being around him last year. Caleb’s one of my guys, man, you know what I mean? I could tell he wants to be here. I can tell that, he’s a highly competitive person,” teammate Tremaine Edmunds said.
Williams threw for 20 touchdowns, was intercepted six times and took a league-high 68 sacks as a rookie. The Bears had a 10-game losing streak and finished 5-12. Waldron was fired nine games into the season and coach Matt Eberflus was let go after a 4-8 start.
The Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their head coach in January. Declan Doyle, who had been an assistant with New Orleans and Denver, is the new offensive coordinator.
Wickersham’s book is being published by Hyperion Avenue, a division of ESPN’s parent company, the Walt Disney Co.
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