The Bears already had a full dose of drama going into this offseason, then they got a little more as the consensus top college prospect toyed with them by waiting until the last possible moment to enter the draft.
The suspense ended as USC quarterback Caleb Williams officially declared for the NFL Draft at the deadline Monday, clearing the way for the Bears to pick him if they want to move on from incumbent Justin Fields. They own the No. 1 pick for a second consecutive year, and general manager Ryan Poles said he was “very wide open” to taking a quarterback.
Williams already is well into the process of being debated and nitpicked, but he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and in three seasons of college football threw for 272.5 yards per game, completed 66.9% of his passes and had 93 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions.
His future is unpredictable, but the Bears have never had the chance to draft a quarterback with his credentials. As a prospect, he is considered one of the best of the last decade.
So the Bears find themselves in a difficult but advantageous situation.
This offseason offers up a rare scenario, especially for them. After years of desperation that forced them into questionable moves — remember when they tried to solve the Mitch Trubisky problem by trading for Nick Foles? — they finally have a good team and are deliberating decisions that could propel it to greatness.
They’ve seldom had more leverage. Or more at stake.
While the Bears certainly are trending positively after jumping from three wins to seven, that progress is meaningless unless they take the next step — becoming an actual contender.
Poles declared his intent to “take the [NFC] North and never give it back” when the Bears hired him, but they have yet to climb out of last place. Even if they make every right move in their own rebuild, they still have to outdo competing rebuilds by the Lions, Packers and Vikings. The Lions and Packers won playoff games over the weekend.
In sifting through their disappointment, the Bears chose to keep coach Matt Eberflus and fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Poles said he expects to take the quarterback decision “all the way to April” and that he has more than four quarterbacks with a first-round grade.
The Bears have to evaluate whether Williams is their guy or perhaps North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels or someone else and weigh each prospect’s potential against the modest growth they’ve seen from Fields.
The new offensive coordinator theoretically would be integral in making that call. With the draft a little more than three months away and major scouting events such as the Senior Bowl and NFL combine coming up soon, the Bears need to zero in on a hire.
Preparation for the draft and free agency already is well underway at Halas Hall. Beyond the No. 1 pick, the Bears also are picking at No. 9 and have the eighth-most salary-cap space at $48.6 million.
They have interviewed Seahawks coordinator Shane Waldron and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, 49ers co-coordinator Klint Kubiak and University of Kentucky coordinator Liam Coen. There’s a clear leaning toward the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, which has produced 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Rams coach Sean McVay, Packers coach Matt LaFleur and others.
It would be logical for them to talk to former Colts and Panthers coach Frank Reich and former Chiefs and Commanders coordinator Eric Bieniemy, as well.
The new coordinator could be walking into one of two very different situations.
He would take over an offense that finished second in rushing and 27th in passing on its way to landing 18th in points and possibly inherit Fields, who was in the bottom half of NFL starters in most categories last season.
Or he could help select and develop the Bears’ next franchise quarterback, perhaps Williams.
