Caleb Williams’ Development Reportedly Won’t Stop A Coaching Change
Chicago Bears fans have witnessed a dark cycle over the past seven years. They would draft a young quarterback in the 1st round. The team would struggle that first year and fire the head coach the next year. That next regime would try to make it work for a couple of seasons but eventually want to go in a new direction at quarterback. Then repeat. It happened with Mitch Trubisky and again with Justin Fields. Now many fear the same is about to come true with Caleb Williams as the situation with Matt Eberflus gets dicier by the week.
Is he fated for the same outcome of having to reset his development after one season because the Bears can’t get the head coach right? Even if that is true, it doesn’t sound like the team is overly concerned about it. That is what Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune hinted at recently. If Williams is as good of a quarterback as the organization believes, he should have no problem surviving a system change next year. There is plenty of evidence suggesting good quarterbacks find a way.
“If a coaching change is needed, the Bears have to make that switch because it’s the best thing for the team. There’s a sky-is-falling belief that changing coaching staffs or coordinators suddenly would stunt Williams’ growth? If he’s the kind of quarterback the Bears believe he is, it wouldn’t.
Williams will go into Year 2 with a season of experience studying defenses, reading coverages, testing concepts, learning how to handle the rush and more. Yes, he would have to learn a new playbook if the Bears made a change. Justin Herbert had a new coaching staff with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021, his second season. He passed for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns — both career highs.”
Caleb Williams wouldn’t be the first to do this.
Herbert was one example, as Biggs pointed out. There are others. Derek Carr changed coaching staffs going into his second season with the Raiders. He finished just shy of 4,000 yards with 32 touchdowns. Andrew Luck kind of did it in 2013. Bruce Arians was offensive coordinator and defacto head coach in 2012 because of Chuck Pagano’s cancer battle. Arians left the next year, replaced by Pep Hamilton, and Luck still had 3,822 yards, 23 TDs, and 9 INTs. Jared Goff went from throwing 0 TDs and 7 INTs as a rookie under Jeff Fisher to 28 TDs and 7 INTs under Sean McVay the next year.
If Caleb Williams has the traits of a franchise quarterback, and there are plenty of indications that is the case, a coaching change isn’t likely to alter his trajectory. If anything, it could accelerate it if they somehow find the right guy for the job. The law of averages says they’re due after underwhelming candidates for the past 12 years. We’ve already seen evidence that Eberflus might not be capable enough to handle the big decisions for this franchise. Williams will be fine as long as they get the right guy to replace him.