Yet More Crazy Details Emerged On The Alan Williams Situation

Two days later, there is still loads of confusion surrounding what happened with the Chicago Bears on September 20th. Losing Braxton Jones to IR was bad enough. Justin Fields then made it worse by his calling out the coaching staff for his recent struggles. Yet the wildest development was the resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams. He'd stepped away from the team the previous week for undisclosed circumstances. At last, he sent out a letter stating he was taking time away for "family and health reasons."

Nothing about the timeline made sense. If Williams were suffering health issues, then why resign? If he's stayed with the team, he could've had access to their abundant medical resources. The fact a lawyer quickly got involved made matters even stranger. Now we have another wild twist in the story. Albert Breer of the MMQB has strong connections to the Bears organization. He revealed some incredible nuggets. The two biggest include a revelation that Williams did not step away for health reasons and the fact that head coach Matt Eberflus planned to take over play calling on defense even before he stepped down.

"Ahead of Chicago’s game in Tampa last week, Williams was in morning meetings Wednesday. At around 11 a.m. it was announced to Bears players and coaches that the defensive coordinator would be leaving the team. It was termed a personal leave of absence unrelated to Williams’s health, and information was scarce for the rest of the week.

Head coach Matt Eberflus took over Williams’s play-calling role for the Buccaneers game—something many in the building felt had been coming for a while, regardless of Williams’s personal situation. Eberflus had spent more time on that side of the ball in the offseason, after spending a lot of time with the offense in 2022."

Alan Williams' exit gets more confusing by the day.

From what Breer describes, it sounds like Eberflus planned to seize control in the near future after yet another rough defensive performance against Green Bay in the opener. Did Williams see it as a demotion and decide to step away rather than endure the public humiliation? That is merely speculation. It is difficult to imagine somebody with his long NFL experience would outright quit over something like that. Yet the fact Breer suggests the resignation had nothing to do with health-related issues suggests something else is going on.

Eberflus stated that he would remain the play caller on defense moving forward. So that part of the issue is resolved. Nobody has filled the defensive coordinator vacancy as yet. The head coach spoke to every position group about the Alan Williams situation, insisting they focus on the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. The organization remains tight-lipped on whatever happened. They didn't even offer well wishes on social media when he departed. One can safely surmise more details will emerge at some point.