LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — With one week remaining in a season that started with sky-high expectations for the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams took a moment to look back, but also chart a course forward into one of the most important years in franchise history.
“I have complete faith in the people upstairs to provide whatever we need to be able to go out there and win games,” Williams told WGN’s Kaitlin Sharkey.
Williams, last year’s top pick in the draft and the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Southern California, rode into the 2024 season on the wings of playoff expectations. The Bears got off to a 4-2 start that included a three game stretch where Williams threw for 687 yards, seven TD passes and one interception in three straight wins.
Then came a back-breaking Hail Mary at the end of their Week 8 game at the Washington Commanders, and Chicago hasn’t won since. The Bears tied a franchise record 10-game losing streak last Sunday, which included the firings of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after a Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots, and head coach Matt Eberflus after a time management debacle at the Detroit Lions in Week 13.
Now, sitting at 4-12 in the basement of the NFC North for the third straight year, Williams offered his thoughts on what kind of coach he wants leading Chicago next season, his offseason plan of improvement, and three lessons learned from his first year in the NFL.
“I’d say the biggest one — I learned this my freshman year of college,” Williams said. “[I] didn’t really have to use it, other than now, which is the ‘keep going‘ kind of thing … This was different than my freshman year, but trying to use the similarities of my freshman year to this year. So, I think that’s No. 1.”
Williams spent his first two seasons at the University of Oklahoma. He spent the first five games of his collegiate career serving as backup QB to Spencer Rattler. Rattler, another former 5-star high school quarterback, was benched early on during the 2021 renewal of the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma.
Down 28-7 to the Longhorns, Williams took his first snap of the game 66 yards to the house. By game’s end, Williams led eight more scoring drives and helped fuel a comeback victory that cemented him as the starting quarterback in Norman and sent him down a path to become an eventual No. 1 overall pick in the NFL.
“I think the next thing would be what it takes each day to be the quarterback, to be able to be the same guy every day, to be able to walk in here and be consistent,” Williams said. “Figuring out what it takes and still learning that it’s not going to be … just a one-year thing. That’s going to be a multiple-year thing. I think those two are at the top.
“Then the last one I would say, don’t take what I have for granted, in the sense of this great team back here because there could be worse situations … I could not be here. So, you know, not taking the time that I have with these guys for granted because I have such great teammates and a good locker room.”
Learning what it takes to be the quarterback of the Bears is one of the primary motivators behind his plans for this offseason. Williams said his offseason to-do list includes working on his footwork, studying concepts, defensive fronts, shells and more.
“I’m going to go and work really heavily on my footwork and things like that — rhythm and timing, not hanging on routes,” Williams said. “Some of that comes from film and some of it just comes from reps in the offense, reps in the film room … So, when I get back here I can, when I hear a concept, it’s not thinking about, ‘What drop is this?’ or anything like that.
“Then football wise … I’m going to work heavily on the defense and fronts and the shell of the defense and then also protections. Dive really heavily into those because if I can help protect myself, it gives us better opportunities to attack down field or find those holes and gaps within the defense when they blitz or when they want to do crazy coverages and things like that.”
When it comes to the eventual head coach who helps him learn those concepts and study opposing defenses, Williams said he wants a disciplined winner. Someone who challenges him and his fellow players every day to the point he doesn’t have to show the love he has for the game of football because they will already feel it.
“A coach that wants to win, a coach that challenges myself [and] the other guys — a disciplined coach,” Williams said. “Just a coach that wants to win and embodies that and helps us players in game, [in] practice. [Someone] that’s tough on us, but also shows some character, some liveliness, and shows some love to his players and a person that doesn’t just show it — we can feel it even if he’s not a huge shower of emotion or anything like that … Just showing us that he cares for us.”
Regardless of outcome Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, Williams said he would define his rookie season as “a learning experience.”
Williams has thrown for 3,393 yards, 19 TD passes and six interceptions through 16 games, which ranks as the fifth-most passing yards in a single season in franchise history. He also compiled the fourth-longest string of passes without throwing a pick in NFL history (353), trailing only 2024 Justin Herbert (357), 2022 Tom Brady (399) and 2018 Aaron Rodgers (402) while also shattering the NFL rookie record, previously held by 2019 Kyler Murray (211).
Williams needs 267 yards to climb past 2015 Jay Cutler for the fourth-most passing yards in a single season in Bears history, and 446 yards passing to eclipse 1995 Erik Kramer, who holds the franchise record at 3,838 yards.
“I think what we’ve been able to go through [this season] and then … what I’ve been been able to go through, I would say as long as I use it in the right way after this game, being able to look back and reflect, watch film, be able to learn about myself, be able to learn more about football,” Williams said. “[I should] be able to grow in a multitude of ways that can help myself but also help this team win.
“I’m really excited, really inspired and encouraged about what’s to come. Losing is frustrating and not playing how you want to [is frustrating]. But as long as you take it the right way, it can be frustrating in the moment, but take it the right way and learn from it, you can come out better on the other end of it.”