Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams held his last weekly news conference of the season Wednesday at Halas Hall as the Bears prepared for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Here are four things we learned from Williams and interim coach Thomas Brown ahead of the season finale.
1. Williams said he wants a coach who will challenge him and the rest of the Bears players.
The Bears coaching search will pick up steam next week, when they may begin requesting interviews with coaches employed by other teams.
Williams said he would give his input on the next hire if President Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles request it. After the Bears fired Matt Eberflus in late November, Poles said he wasn’t sure if he would take specific input from Williams, though much of the interview process of course would center on the candidates’ plans for the quarterback.
“I know that I’m a rookie and a young guy, so if they make decisions without me, that’s their job to make those types of decisions,” Williams said. “If they make a decision like that, I just hope and believe and (have) faith that those guys upstairs, they make the right decisions. … If I’m a part of it, then great.”
Williams said he wants a coach who challenges players, whether that’s on the field or in terms of their character. He also wants “a man of his word” and “a discipline coach” and someone who wants to win.
He said he wasn’t saying Brown hasn’t challenged the Bears, but Brown has been in his role for only a month. Williams said the Bears need “just a consistent challenge throughout the season but also before the season.”
“A challenge is also holding people accountable, and that starts before the season and making sure that everybody is where they need to be,” Williams said. “And the details are on point and we’re challenging each other — whether it’s coaches or players.”
2. Williams said he thinks there has been a “stupid” narrative about the Bears offensive line this season.
Williams has taken a league-high 67 sacks this season, and he has accepted responsibility for his role in avoiding those sacks several times.
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On Wednesday, Williams said he thinks there’s a “stupid idea” that it has all been on a struggling offensive line that has dealt with multiple injuries this season.
“The (negative) connotation behind my offensive line has been annoying and frustrating because they work their tail off to be able to go out there, whether guys are fighting injuries, whether guys can’t play and we’ve got other guys stepping up or whether guys have been playing the whole season,” Williams said. “I’ve taken sacks, yes. And a good amount have been on me, whether it’s small things of getting the ball out of my hands and just maybe dirting it, maybe not trying to find the perfect route, perfect play for that situation.
“Maybe it’s just throwing it out of bounds, dirting it, finding the checkdown faster. And then the other one is just not trying to make plays all the time and understanding that.”
Brown listed multiple improvements Williams can make as he tries to cut down on the sacks moving forward.
“I would say pre-snap mechanics when it comes to understanding potential pressure threats,” Brown said. “Also a mastery of what happens post-snap. Obviously, having the reaction of how they play it out coverage-wise, what pressures they bring, but also understanding where all of my quick element throws are if we have an opportunity for that. At times as well understanding how to maintain proper pocket integrity, so being able to hitch in place and not run yourself into a potential sack. But it’s an all-11 problem.”
3. Brown said he hasn’t discussed a head coaching interview with the Bears.
Despite the Bears’ struggles during his four-game stint as interim coach, Brown might still be a candidate to at least interview with the Bears for the position. But he said he hasn’t discussed it much with Warren or Poles.
“That’s not really my concern,” Brown said. “So we’ll see what happens after the game.”
Brown talked openly Monday about the challenges he knew he would face stepping into the interim coach role and how he still has confidence he will reach his goal to be a head coach at some point. He reiterated Wednesday that it will remain a goal of his, though he noted the complicated factors that go into such hires.
“There’s only 32 head jobs in this league, so it’s obviously a huge deal, it’s highly coveted, everybody wants one,” Brown said. “They may or may not be prepared for the opportunity when they get the opportunity. There are also different looks when it comes to the outside perspective of who is ready for an opportunity and who isn’t. And also I think about the amount of people who have been in spots and been highly successful that at the beginning were underwhelming hires and also highly criticized for a number of reasons because of the perception.”
4. Tight end Cole Kmet was named the Jeff Dickerson Good Guy Award winner.
The Chicago chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America presents the Good Guy Award annually to a player, coach or staff member who best helps the media do their jobs.
Kmet was voted the winner for the second time in three seasons, with safety Kevin Byard voted the runner-up. Kmet, a fifth-year veteran, was consistently available to reporters during the week and after games and answered questions with poise and patience despite the Bears enduring a 10-game losing streak.
The award was renamed in 2022 for Dickerson, an ESPN Bears reporter who died of cancer in 2021.
