Appear Geared Toward Bringing In Caleb Williams But There’s a But

OK, so not everyone is a big fan of Shane Waldron. I totally get it. The Chicago Bears’ new offensive coordinator isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. We established that yesterday with comments from out west. But it still seems like the Bears made the best hire they could with the available candidates who were available.

And, perhaps more important than that, is the notion that Chicago’s new offensive play caller has a scheme geared to make quarterbacks successful.

NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero had an interesting interview in a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. The clip below runs for nearly 5 minutes, but there is a chunk of worthwhile stuff. Particularly the nuggets about the Bears, the Waldron hire, and how Caleb Williams fits in all of it:

There are two quotes that stand out to me most from Pelissero:

• “Their actions, to this point, indicate they’d like to take a quarterback number one.”
• Pelissero infers the Bears’ hires “appear to be geared toward bringing in Caleb Williams” and that Williams “has certainly grown up in, and would like to be, in a system that resembles the type of offense Shane Waldron runs.”

These tidbits have stuck with me since I first watched the interview. The notion that the Bears’ offseason actions indicate their plans to take a quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is sensible. And the same can be said about the idea of the team’s offseason moves suggesting the team is angling to appease Caleb Williams.

Think about the moves the Bears have made this offseason. The team cleaned out its offensive coaching staff to bring in hires from the Sean McVay tree who have been deemed quarterback-friendly. Plus, the defensive coaching staff has maintained continuity — quite possibly with the idea of teaming a young, up-and-coming quarterback with a stable defense that is good enough to keep a rookie from having to play hero ball to win games. Even Colin Cowherd has relayed from Caleb Williams’ camp that the Bears have a path to success based on the things they currently have at their disposal. In short, Williams will walk into a great QB-developing environment if the Bears draft him.

But there’s a but. Two buts, actually.

Caleb Williams isn’t the Bears only quarterback option

The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis doesn’t open its doors for another 21 days. Free agency and the new league year is another 34 days from today. The NFL Draft isn’t coming for 77 days. In other words, there is a lot of time to sort through the Chicago Bears’ quarterback options. And they have options.

While folks have been debating Caleb Williams versus Justin Fields, Drake Maye remains an option:

MORE: If Bears Decide to Draft a QB, Drake Maye Brings a Different Skill Set to the Table

If the Bears are building this quarterback-friendly environment, then it should be friendly for any number of different quarterbacks. My mother used to say “if it’s good for the goose, then it’s good for the gander.” That quote comes to mind, and it has me thinking “if it’s good enough for Caleb Williams, then it’s good enough for Drake Maye.” And if it is good enough for Williams and Maye, then maybe it would be good enough for Justin Fields. After all, Jaxon Smith-Njigba (a Seahawks receiver who played with Fields at Ohio State and in Shane Waldron’s system last year) said the new Bears OC will love Fields.

Don’t get me wrong. Caleb Williams might be The Guy for the Bears. But it would be foolish to not exhaust every option to its fullest extent. Check every box. Dot every “I” and cross every “T” before you sign off on the organization’s biggest decision ever. For this franchise to get it right at the quarterback position, it cannot afford to cut corners or skip steps. We’ve seen how that worked out in the past with how the team approached the 2017 NFL Draft. If you’re unfamiliar, you can re-visit how the Bears landed on drafting Mitchell Trubisky instead of Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson.

To be clear, I’m not banging the drum for Drake Maye. Instead, what I’m trying to do is keep an open mind about this situation. We are still so early in the offseason process. There are still so many hurdles to clear in terms of player interviews, discussions with their teammates and coaches, workouts, background checks, and more. I get it. Caleb Williams looks like The Guy. But let’s let this play out.