Caleb Williams might be a controversial figure because of his quirky personality and interests outside football. Yet nobody would call him a bad person. Everybody who has worked with him insists he's a great guy who is a solid teammate and works hard. Despite this, it feels like he manages to make enemies anyway. Some are people who are probably jealous of his success. Others feel he's overrated. Then there are a few who might not have gotten the fair treatment from him that they feel they deserved.
That is the case for most of the previous Bears coaching staff. It seems they have some beef with the young quarterback stemming from the recent tell-all article from ESPN about how last season's disaster unfolded. One of the most inflammatory passages was Williams revealing he had to watch game film alone most of the time. Coaches never instructed him on how to do it, which he feels led to many of his struggles. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, those same coaches are pissed about the comments.
They feel Williams threw them under the bus.
"Football maturity is going to be a big thing for him," Fowler said. "Leaguewide, talking to other teams who are watching it closely because the ability is massive but how does he comport himself on the field? The Bears have already been working with him on body language, how you're handling yourself in the huddle, on the sidelines when a play doesn't go right. And the word out of Chicago is he's handling himself well there.
"Now, some of the previous Bears coaches were not overly thrilled, I was told, that he made public that he was watching film by himself. They felt like he could've handled that a little better from an accountability standpoint. So those are all things people are watching but word is this offseason he's been great, really taken to Ben Johnson's hard, aggressive coaching."
Caleb Williams didn't tell the reporter to publish those words.
That must be kept in mind here. Seth Wickersham wanted to interview him and asked some honest questions. Caleb Williams, being the kid he is, gave him some honest answers. Intentionally downplaying his plight might've been the mature thing to do, but it's not like he had many adults around him with the presence of mind to tell him that. Besides, it's not like any of those coaches are stepping forward to take accountability. Matt Eberflus swiftly deflected any idea he might've mishandled Williams' development. Those other coaches haven't admitted to anything either. Most of them quickly moved on to other jobs, praying that people would forget what happened. But sure, Williams is at fault.
