Bears rumors: Why former coaches aren’t ‘thrilled’ with Caleb Williams

As Chicago Bears fans are eager to see how Caleb Williams will play in his second season in the NFL, there could also be some concerns in regards to how he will develop or his maturity. While there will be a new dynamic between Williams and Bears head coach Ben Johnson, there are former coaches that have reportedly not liked comments made by the quarterback.

According to ESPN's NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler, he would say that while Williams is “handling himself well” in regards to football maturity. However, some former coaches for Chicago “were not overly thrilled” that Williams said that he watches film by himself.

“Football maturity is going to be a big thing for him,” Fowler said, via Bleacher Report. “Leaguewide, talking to other teams who are watching it closely because the ability is massive but how does he comport himself on the field? The Bears have already been working with him on body language, how you're handling yourself in the huddle, and on the sidelines when a play doesn't go right. And the word out of Chicago is he's handling himself well there.

“Now, some of the previous Bears coaches were not overly thrilled, I was told, that he made public that he was watching film by himself. They felt like he could've handled that a little better from an accountability standpoint. So those are all things people are watching but word is this offseason he's been great, really taken to Ben Johnson's hard, aggressive coaching.”

Bears' Caleb Williams on relationship with head coach Ben Johnson

There's no doubt that the Bears' signal-caller in Williams has gifts very few quarterbacks have, which is why he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Still, it helps that the team around him needs to be well-kept, which the team has addressed by giving Williams an offensive-minded head coach in Johnson.

Coming from Williams, the relationship between the two has been going smoothly, with the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator being “tough” on the quarterback, but in a good way per the 23-year-old.

“Ben Johnson uses some choice words every day towards me,” Williams said, according to Empire Sports Media's Ryan Garcia. “He's tough; I love him. He's awesome. It's been great being around him. We hang out in his office, have lunch sometimes, and build this bond and this relationship to be able to last a while.”

In his rookie season, Williams threw for 3,541 yards to go along with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. At any rate, Williams looks to take a massive step in his second year with the first game of the season arriving on Monday, Sept. 8, against the Minnesota Vikings.