Caleb Williams’ father, Carl Williams, has been making his thoughts on the Chicago Bears’ head coaching search known on social media.
With Chicago currently searching for its next franchise leader, the elder Williams seems to be advocating for offensive-minded candidates to mentor his son. Specifically, he shared multiple posts on social media referencing the effectiveness of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has garnered attention for transforming the Lions’ offense into one of the NFL’s most dynamic units.
In addition to sharing posts praising Johnson, Williams re-posted discussions highlighting the potential of pairing Caleb with other renowned offensive minds, such as former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, also sharing multiple posts discussing the idea of teams wanting to trade for Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
Caleb Williams’ Dad Carl Wants an Innovator & Disciplinarian to Coach the Bears
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lists: Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. He has one year remaining on his deal after the season and a few teams have an interest in possibly trying to TRADE for him. @NFLonFOX
The input from the elder Williams reflects a broader sentiment shared by many Bears fans that the team needs a leader capable of maximizing Caleb’s potential while revitalizing the team’s offense.
It likely won’t be Gruden who does it, though.
In October of 2021, Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following the public revelation of emails he had sent between 2011 and 2018 that contained racist, misogynistic and homophobic language. These emails were primarily exchanged with Bruce Allen, the former president of the then-Washington Football Team.
In one such email, Gruden referred to NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith using a racist trope. That likely won’t vibe well in Chicago, where president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles, both of whom are Black, are currently leading the team’s coaching search.
The team is already casting a huge net, and some of the coaches Chicago is interested in should please Mr. Williams. The Bears have expressed interest in interviewing the following candidates:
Lions OC Johnson, interim coach Thomas Brown, Lions DC Aaron Glenn, Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, Miami Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, New York Giants OC Mike Kafka, Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith, Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Vikings DC Brian Flores, former Stanford coach and current Denver Broncos senior personnel executive David Shaw and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrable.
Caleb Williams Set to Begin Huge Offseason
Carl Williams taking interest in his son’s team is quite normal.
From Caleb’s early years, Carl has been both a mentor and a motivator. A former football player at Oklahoma State and now co-owner of Athletic Republic Capitol Region, a premier training facility in Maryland, Carl’s athletic background and business acumen have been instrumental in Caleb’s development.
He has designed rigorous training regimens for Caleb, including predawn workouts to help foster his son’s talents. Caleb often acknowledges his father’s influence. “You instilled a work ethic in me at a young age that I can’t thank you enough for,” Caleb told his father in his speech accepting the Heisman Trophy in 2022, via Pro Football Network.
You can bet Carl will continue closely monitoring how the team’s coaching search goes, while also helping Caleb prepare for Year 2.
“This is going to be a big offseason for me, and I’m excited about it,” Williams said, per ESPN. “I have things that — maturity-wise — I’m excited about learning. Things are going to take time, and I’m well aware of that and OK with that. But I’m definitely going to try and push myself to exhaustion mentally and physically to be able to withstand a long season, because this has been my longest season that I’ve ever played.”
Having a coach who can help Williams be the best version of himself will be the team’s paramount goal this offseason — and you can be his dad will be watching closely.
