When the Bears drafted Caleb Williams as the first overall pick in last year’s draft, then-HC Matt Eberflus had one job. And that was to develop Williams into a winning QB. The Bears had committed to Eberflus after finishing two seasons at the bottom. They hoped that maybe having Caleb this time would turn things around. But sadly, the Bears once again finished at the bottom of the NFC North. Struggling became synonymous with Caleb’s name during his rookie QB year. The team finally fired Matt. But to this day, if anyone brings up Caleb’s rookie year performance, they do not hesitate to blame coach Eberflus.

Lately, Caleb Williams has been all over the headlines after a snippet from a new book dropped some behind-the-scenes info about his pre-draft process. But that’s not the only thing; there were some pretty surprising details about his rookie year with the Bears, too. Turns out, Caleb had to watch and break down film mostly on his own. And the QB would get little to no help from the coaches. Naturally, this got everyone talking about the Bears and their team management. Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth weighed in during a conversation with Rich Eisen. When asked about the situation, Mark didn’t hesitate to call it “malfeasance.”

Schlereth explained how the Bears’ brass have always put their team together the wrong way. They never bothered to bring in a veteran QB who could help the young QBs develop. And teach them stuff like how to break down film. “Caleb Williams, well, I’m shocked the kid put up 20 touchdowns versus six interceptions,” said Mark. The former NFL player also pointed out Williams’ 68 sacks, the most in the 2024 season. But Schlereth says, since no one ever sat down with the young QB to explain where he should be throwing or how to protect himself, it’s no surprise.

“I am shocked, it’s like it is amazing that you put up the stats you put up at 66% or whatever it was. And like I said, 20 versus six, that’s phenomenal for Caleb Williams if that was what was actually going on in Chicago,” said Mark. Now, about that snippet causing all the buzz, here’s a bit of a surprising detail from an excerpt of a book set to be published in September. 

The snippet that sparked controversy around Caleb Williams

Well, ESPN’s popular sports writer and journalist Seth Wickersham spoke to Caleb’s father, Carl Williams. Seth decided to write about it in his upcoming book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback. Last week, ESPN dropped a snippet of Williams’ part as a teaser for the book. The ESPN article includes quotes from Williams’ father, Carl, and those quotes were enough to blow up the entire NFL world.

So, according to the ESPN article, Caleb Williams didn’t want to end up with the Chicago Bears. And neither did his family. They were seriously not on board with the idea. Caleb’s dad, Carl Williams, even talked to lawyers to see if there was a way Caleb could avoid getting drafted by the Bears and sign with a different NFL team instead. He was even open to his son playing in the UFL first. Just so he could later join a team of his choice as a free agent. “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl reportedly said in the snippet.

The article also points out how the Bears have struggled to develop their past QB picks like Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields. Trubisky’s career now looks like it’ll stay on the backup track. As for Fields, he is making a fresh start with the Jets. Carl Williams, Caleb’s father, expressed that he didn’t trust the team’s direction. He called out the Bears for everything from their messy stadium situation to the poor offense under then-HC Matt Eberflus.

The excerpt reveals even more surprising details—Carl referred to the NFL’s CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) as “the worst piece of s— I’ve ever read.” So far, the Chicago Bears haven’t commented on any of this. Nor have they made Williams available to the media, even though he recently participated in OTAs.

Well, the Chicago Bears are already off to an explosive start. And if just one excerpt caused this much frenzy, imagine what the full book is going to do.