Bears coach Matt Eberflus, whose future likely depends on the development of quarterback Caleb Williams, was asked what effect the ballyhooed rookie has had on the ‘‘authentic’’ connection Eberflus already has seen in the 2024 Bears and didn’t even mention Williams in his response.
‘‘I think the effect of getting that authenticity in terms of the connection is [that] we’re all Chicago Bears,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘It’s not about offense [or] defense: ‘I play linebacker and you play quarterback.’ Or o-line versus a secondary guy. That doesn’t matter to us. We’re all the Chicago Bears, and we’ve gotta be tight that way. That’s gotta be the glue that keeps us together.’’
Eberflus and the Bears know what they’ve got in Williams. He’s a potential difference-making quarterback who can fuel a franchise resurgence to heights it hasn’t reached since the Mike Ditka era and a player with the strong-willed personality to be the most legitimate ‘‘face of the franchise’’ since Brian Urlacher, if not Walter Payton.
But they’re not going to overplay their hand and overpromote Williams before his time. They’re determined to treat him like a quarterback and not the savior, which is how many quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall have been treated.
Under general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus, the Bears are playing the Williams card correctly so far. They didn’t pussyfoot around with the apprenticeship game that former GM Ryan Pace and ex-coach Matt Nagy played with Mitch Trubisky (Mike Glennon) and Justin Fields (Andy Dalton).
That’s a preferred strategy if you have a proven quarterback in his prime operating an established offense, such as the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes/Alex Smith or the Packers with Aaron Rodgers/Brett Favre or (as it appears) Jordan Love/Rodgers. But the Bears had neither and don’t have it now. A year after C.J. Stroud fueled the Texans’ renaissance from 3-13-1 to 10-7 and the playoffs with a roster and coaching experience no better than the Bears have today, this is the way to go.
The Bears are acknowledging reality: For this franchise in its current state, Williams’ time needs to be now. And they’re not downplaying the power of Williams’ personality. They know he’s not just another rookie, but they’re not making him out to be more than he currently is. ‘‘The Caleb Effect’’ is there — you can feel the energy his potential and personality have brought to the Bears — but it’s not a dominant theme at Halas Hall. The Bears wisely aren’t overselling him.
And Williams is on board with that. He is here not just to make a difference but to make the difference. He ultimately needs to be the reason the Bears win. But even while embracing expectations, Williams himself is slow-playing the difference-making quarterback role he’s here to play.
‘‘I wouldn’t say that the quarterback position is necessarily to be the reason why the team wins; it’s to be a portion of it,’’ he said when he arrived at Halas Hall after the draft. ‘‘There’s obviously 10 other people on the field. At other times, whether it’s special teams or defense, there’s another 11 on the field. It’s a team sport. That’s why I love the sport so much.’’
But . . .
‘‘But my reason why I play is to win games, to win championships, so I want to be a big portion of it. I want to go out there. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy. I want to do it with my teammates. So what better place to do it than the Chicago Bears?’’
As a No. 1 overall pick, Williams’ advantage of not going to a team at rock bottom already is playing out. The Bears have a nice mix of established players and/or vocal leaders in Jaylon Johnson, Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Montez Sweat and emerging players in those roles in Jaquan Brisker, Teven Jenkins and Cole Kmet. Williams knows his place.
If he’s as good as advertised, he eventually will pass them all. But he’s a young man in a hurry who seems to know not to go too fast, too soon. There’s still a long way to go.
Four weeks into his Bears career, Williams still has everything left to prove. And his sense of individuality and dedication to his brand eventually might provide some challenging moments.
But for a team that has had chronic issues developing a franchise quarterback — only for the last eight decades — the Bears suddenly are looking like a team that has done this before.
