CHICAGO – Regardless of the Chicago Bears’ record, their season will be considered a smashing success if second-year quarterback Caleb Williams proves management chose wisely.
It’s really that simple.
Although the Bears, like the NFL’s other 31 franchises, strive to win as many games as possible, getting Williams – the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft – on the right path is the most important factor in the team’s long-term success. And doing it this season, after Williams’ turbulent rookie year, is key.
The process got off to a rough start in the Bears’ 27-24 loss to the visiting Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Vikings second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was making his NFL debut, outplayed Williams down the stretch in rallying his team to victory. Facing a 17-6 deficit early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota remained confident in its inexperienced leader, who delivered two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the game’s final 13 minutes.
Williams completed 21 of 35 passes for 210 passing yards. He had a rushing touchdown and a late touchdown pass.
He wasn’t sharp in Chicago’s season opener – and his teammates weren’t, either. In new head coach Ben Johnson’s debut, the Bears committed 12 penalties for 127 yards.
“It starts with getting in and out of the huddle. It starts with just being able to complete [mid-range] passes, check-downs, things like that – keep drives going,” Williams said. “We did that in the beginning. … We gotta get better with those.”
Said Johnson, “Obviously, a disappointing way to start the season.”
Although the Bears had hoped for a better beginning, they won’t abandon their plan after a season-opening flop.
According to a former longtime NFL executive, the organization’s plan for Williams will be paramount to his success.
During a distinguished 27-year career as a high-ranking player-personnel executive and general manager, Scott Pioli – a three-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots – played a leading role in the scouting and development of many quarterbacks. Regardless of a passer’s skill set, Pioli explained, the road to becoming effective at the highest level of the game, let alone achieving stardom, is often bumpy.
“Some people are ready faster than others, but there’s no one that comes in and is ready,” Pioli told Andscape recently in a lengthy phone conversation. “You can get someone with incredible talent, who has incredible tools, and regardless of where you pick them, they still have to be developed.
“Some can develop quickly. But some need more time. There are some who need to develop physically. Some need to develop mentally. For some, it’s emotionally. But you don’t know what you have, and what each one of them will need, until you have ’em on campus and can work with them.”
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Last season, Bears fans wanted Williams’ development to occur at light speed. It didn’t.
Admittedly, Williams struggled in adjusting to the speed of the NFL, which contributed to the Bears’ last-place finish in the NFC North. In fairness to Williams, though, he established new benchmarks for a Bears rookie quarterback.
What’s more, his accomplishments occurred during Chicago’s season-long coaching instability, which would have been a weight around any quarterback’s neck.
Last November, amid the Bears’ offensive struggles and other issues, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus were fired. Bears management believes that the offensive-minded Johnson is the right person to help Williams maximize his potential. Now, general manager Ryan Poles and others in the football operation look to Johnson for proof of concept.
To be sure, Johnson directed an exciting, productive offense as the Detroit Lions’ playcaller. But Johnson’s presence in the organization doesn’t guarantee Williams will ascend overnight, Pioli said.
“With young, talented quarterbacks, their success is circumstantial as much as anything,” said Pioli, winner of five NFL executive-of-the-year awards. “People want to reduce it down to just the head coach. But it is so much more than that.
“It’s also the assistant coaches, all of the people that are touching that player, the defense, the special teams – all that matters. And there’s already been a lot of change for Williams, so I don’t know if we know yet where he’s at [in his development].”
Poles is working hard to put Williams in a nurturing environment. Of that, Pioli is certain.
Back in 2009, Pioli, then the Kansas City Chiefs’ general manager, hired Poles as a scouting assistant. Promoted several times through Kansas City’s organization by Pioli’s successors, Poles rose to executive director of player personnel before leaving to run the Bears’ front office in 2022.
“I know how hard he works, what he believes in and that he wants to put players in the best situation to succeed,” Pioli said. “He understands everything that goes into helping a young, talented quarterback. He knows it’s a process.”
One game – or even several – won’t determine Williams’ season or, by extension, the Bears’ future at the most important position in sports. Over a 17-game schedule, there are numerous opportunities for players to prove their worth.
The Bears are banking on Williams seizing most of them.
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