Caleb Williams offers strange advice to Marcus Freeman about Bears coaching job

The Chicago Bears are in the middle of a massive head coaching search, one in which general manager Ryan Poles has requested interviews with around 20 candidates. Seriously, he has.

One of the coaching candidates the Bears are interested in speaking with is Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, whose team is preparing to play for the College Football Championship against Ohio State.

Freeman is widely considered the top college-to-NFL prospect because of his leadership style. He's a no-nonsense ball coach who's restored the Fighting Irish's image as a college football elite.

So, yeah, why wouldn't the Bears take a swing at him? Freeman would have to consider the gig, too, right? He'd inherit quarterback Caleb Williams, a franchise passer with generational upside. If there's any job to take right now, it's in Chicago.

Unless you ask Caleb for advice.

Williams appeared on the St. Brown Brothers Podcast on Wednesday and was pretty blunt about what he thinks Freeman should do.

"I would stay put," Williams said of Freeman staying at Notre Dame. "He built everything over there. But if they (the Bears) interview him, we'll see. We'll see if he takes that."

Interesting. You'd think Williams would do his part to lure Freeman to the Bears. Instead, he's essentially telling Freeman to choose remaining at Notre Dame over Chicago.

Perhaps Williams has his sights set on Ben Johnson or another established NFL coach. Maybe he doesn't want a rookie NFL coach learning the pro game at his expense. I get it; Williams is entering a critical period in his development, and he needs to lean on the experience of guys who've been there, done that.

Freeman, while potentially a great future NFL coach, isn't that guy right now. The Bears can't afford to spend a year or two on a head coach's learning curve while trying to speed up their quarterback's.

Still, it's odd that Williams didn't represent the Chicago Bears head coaching job as a must-take if given the opportunity.