Latest news with #then-Bears
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams' negative perception of Bears was right and that's why they need Ben Johnson to succeed
The Chicago Bears' problem is that nothing Caleb Williams or his father said about them was wrong. The story that Williams tried to steer his way out of being drafted by the Bears last year isn't new, but there are some new details revealed in an ESPN preview of Seth Wickersham's upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." Among the details was the Williams family wondering if Caleb could play a season in the United Football League and then enter the NFL as a free agent in 2025. That's desperation to avoid Chicago. "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Caleb's father Carl Williams said in the book. Chicago fans or those who disapprove of player empowerment in general might get mad that Caleb Williams contemplated trying to circumvent the draft. But the truth is, he thought about it because Chicago is where quarterbacks go to die. And nothing about how the Bears handled Williams' rocky rookie season changed that perception either, starting with saddling him with a defensive-minded head coach already on the hot seat. The Bears needed to hire Ben Johnson to help fix years of quarterback futility. And now they need him to succeed. Badly. Through the early part of the offseason, there were reports that the Bears might not pay up for a top coaching candidate. There was an abundance of speculation that Johnson, considered either the best candidate on the market or second behind Mike Vrabel, would go to the Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson had great seasons as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator and was in high demand. The Bears stepped up and got the deal done to hire Johnson. Maybe they realized they were in danger of completely alienating an elite prospect who was supposed to finally dig the franchise out of its horrific quarterback history. In the book preview, the Williams family was skeptical of then-Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and their skepticism proved to be correct. In one startling passage, Williams said he would watch film alone without any coaching guidance. "No one tells me what to watch," Caleb Williams told his dad, via Wickersham's book. "I just turn it on." Johnson was brought in to change that culture, which has been a reason Bears quarterbacks haven't succeeded for decades. And if you read between the lines on what Johnson told "The Herd" on Thursday, in response to the excerpts from Wickersham's book, it's clear he too needs to distance himself from the Bears' past. "I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear," Johnson told "The Herd" via Jeremy Bergman of "He's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025." Chicago truly is where quarterbacks go to die. The Bears haven't had a first-team All-Pro quarterback since 1950. Since 1963, only two Bears quarterbacks have made the Pro Bowl. Jim McMahon was on the team in 1985 and Mitchell Trubisky made it in 2018 as a replacement. The Bears have famously never had a 4,000-yard season from a quarterback. It's fairly amazing the Bears have never figured out the modern passing game. Williams' father was right to be wary of sending his son to a franchise that has never developed a star at quarterback, unless you count Sid Luckman about 80 years ago. Williams had a tough rookie season. Some of his stats were fine but he took a league-leading 68 sacks and often looked overwhelmed. Waldron was fired and Williams had maybe his best stretch with Thomas Brown as the team's interim offensive coordinator. In typical Bears fashion, they screwed up that momentum by promoting Brown to interim head coach when they fired Eberflus. The Bears have done plenty this offseason to help Williams. Johnson was hired and he is considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The Bears got three new starters for the interior of their offensive line. They drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. With all the moves the Bears have made to build up around Williams, he should succeed. There's a lot of pressure for Johnson and the team to get it right. But this is the Bears. There is an entire Super Bowl era's worth of history working against Johnson and Williams. If the Bears can't get it right with Williams, the next quarterback prospect they eye in the draft might actually follow through on what Williams contemplated.
Fox Sports
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Caleb Williams sought ways to avoid getting drafted by Bears, per new book
Caleb Williams is fully entrenched as the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback, entering his second season with the franchise. However, if he and his family had their initial say, Williams might have been playing quarterback elsewhere in 2025. Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams and his family sought ways to potentially circumvent the draft process, going as far as consulting with lawyers to find a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement and weighing the idea of joining the UFL instead, according to the upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." In a direct quote from the book, Caleb Williams' father, Carl, told author Seth Wickersham that "Chicago is the place that quarterbacks go to die." Additionally, Williams had also questioned his fit with then-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before the team took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to the book. Other findings from "American Kings" surrounding Williams include the quarterback's desire to be drafted by the Minnesota Vikings following a meeting with head coach Kevin O'Connell and considering an attack plan to get the Bears to trade the No. 1 overall pick. However, Williams relented on that idea. "I wasn't ready to nuke the city," Williams told Wickersham of the possible idea of forcing Chicago to trade the pick it used to select him. Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, there had been some rumors that Williams and his camp were considering ways to avoid winding up with the Bears, as he had been widely regarded as one of the best quarterback prospects in recent memory. Such a move isn't unprecedented, but it is rare and hasn't happened in recent years. John Elway used his baseball background to force a trade to the Denver Broncos after the Indianapolis Colts took him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1983. Bo Jackson refused to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the team took him with the No. 1 pick in 1986, opting to play baseball instead. In 2004, the New York Giants wound up taking Eli Manning with the No. 1 overall pick after his family expressed concerns over playing for the Chargers. Eventually, Williams said that he'd be OK with ending up with the Bears during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. "If I get drafted by the Bears, I'll be excited," Williams told ESPN at the time. "If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I'm just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they'd be excited. "I'm not pushing any agenda," Williams added on the possibility of demanding a trade. "At the end of the day, the Bears have the last say. Regardless of how I feel, I'm not pushing an agenda of, 'Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don't want to go.' I'm excited for whatever comes." While Williams eventually warmed up to the idea of playing for the Bears, his rookie season didn't go too well. He put up a respectable statline, completing 62.5% of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions to go with an 87.8 passer rating and 489 rushing yards. However, Williams was sacked a league-leading 68 times and Chicago's offense ranked last in total yards. It was also 28th in scoring. Amid those struggles, the Bears fired Waldron following their Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots. Three weeks later, head coach Matt Eberflus was fired following a devastating loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. That marked the sixth loss for the Bears in a 10-game losing streak, which caused them to finish the year with a 5-12 record after going 4-2 before their bye week. As the Bears' season went into free fall, Williams also had some troubles behind the scenes. He told his dad that he often watched film alone because no one instructed him what film to watch, according to "American Kings." The Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to replace Eberflus as head coach in January, scooping up one of the top coaching commodities in recent years to help Williams in Year 2 and beyond. Johnson's hiring, plus a busy offseason that saw the Bears remake the interior of their offensive line, has Williams "super excited" for the 2025 season. "Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did, ups and downs, and then to be able come in here, be as confident as I was last year or possibly even more and to be able to get here with the group that we have, I really can't wait to get to work with these guys," Williams told reporters in April. "We've got a good group of guys personality-wise, and then obviously talent-wise, it speaks for itself, what some of these guys have been able to do, and so many key pieces that we added so far to this team. We've meshed well these past two days of introduction, and now today of our first workout, and [we're] getting after it." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams' negative perception of Bears was right and that's why they need Ben Johnson to succeed
The Chicago Bears' problem is that nothing Caleb Williams or his father said about them was wrong. The story that Williams tried to steer his way out of being drafted by the Bears last year isn't new, but there are some new details revealed in an ESPN preview of Seth Wickersham's upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." Among the details was the Williams family wondering if Caleb could play a season in the United Football League and then enter the NFL as a free agent in 2025. That's desperation to avoid Chicago. "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Caleb's father Carl Williams said in the book. Chicago fans or those who disapprove of player empowerment in general might get mad that Caleb Williams contemplated trying to circumvent the draft. But the truth is, he thought about it because Chicago is where quarterbacks go to die. And nothing about how the Bears handled Williams' rocky rookie season changed that perception either, starting with saddling him with a defensive-minded head coach already on the hot seat. The Bears needed to hire Ben Johnson to help fix years of quarterback futility. And now they need him to succeed. Badly. Through the early part of the offseason, there were reports that the Bears might not pay up for a top coaching candidate. There was an abundance of speculation that Johnson, considered either the best candidate on the market or second behind Mike Vrabel, would go to the Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson had great seasons as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator and was in high demand. The Bears stepped up and got the deal done to hire Johnson. Maybe they realized they were in danger of completely alienating an elite prospect who was supposed to finally dig the franchise out of its horrific quarterback history. In the book preview, the Williams family was skeptical of then-Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and their skepticism proved to be correct. In one startling passage, Williams said he would watch film alone without any coaching guidance. "No one tells me what to watch," Caleb Williams told his dad, via Wickersham's book. "I just turn it on." Johnson was brought in to change that culture, which has been a reason Bears quarterbacks haven't succeeded for decades. And if you read between the lines on what Johnson told "The Herd" on Thursday, in response to the excerpts from Wickersham's book, it's clear he too needs to distance himself from the Bears' past. "I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear," Johnson told "The Herd" via Jeremy Bergman of "He's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025." Chicago truly is where quarterbacks go to die. The Bears haven't had a first-team All-Pro quarterback since 1950. Since 1963, only two Bears quarterbacks have made the Pro Bowl. Jim McMahon was on the team in 1985 and Mitchell Trubisky made it in 2018 as a replacement. The Bears have famously never had a 4,000-yard season from a quarterback. It's fairly amazing the Bears have never figured out the modern passing game. Williams' father was right to be wary of sending his son to a franchise that has never developed a star at quarterback, unless you count Sid Luckman about 80 years ago. Williams had a tough rookie season. Some of his stats were fine but he took a league-leading 68 sacks and often looked overwhelmed. Waldron was fired and Williams had maybe his best stretch with Thomas Brown as the team's interim offensive coordinator. In typical Bears fashion, they screwed up that momentum by promoting Brown to interim head coach when they fired Eberflus. The Bears have done plenty this offseason to help Williams. Johnson was hired and he is considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The Bears got three new starters for the interior of their offensive line. They drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. With all the moves the Bears have made to build up around Williams, he should succeed. There's a lot of pressure for Johnson and the team to get it right. But this is the Bears. There is an entire Super Bowl era's worth of history working against Johnson and Williams. If the Bears can't get it right with Williams, the next quarterback prospect they eye in the draft might actually follow through on what Williams contemplated.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams' negative perception of Bears was right, and that's why they need Ben Johnson to succeed
The Chicago Bears' problem is that nothing Caleb Williams or his father said about them more than a year ago was wrong. The story that Williams tried to steer his way out of being drafted by the Bears last year isn't new, but there were some new specific details revealed in an ESPN preview of Seth Wickersham's upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." Among the details was the Williams family wondering if Caleb could play a season in the United Football League and then entering the NFL as a free agent in 2025. That's desperation to avoid Chicago. Advertisement "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Caleb's father Carl Williams said in the book. Chicago fans or those who disapprove of player empowerment in general might get mad that Williams tried to circumvent the draft. But the truth is, that's the perception of the Bears and it is earned. Nothing about Williams' rocky rookie season changed that either. The Bears needed to hire Ben Johnson to help fix it. And now they need him to succeed. Badly. Ben Johnson tries to develop Caleb Williams Through the early part of the offseason, there were reports that the Bears might not be willing to pay up for a top coaching candidate. There was an abundance of speculation that Johnson, considered either the best candidate on the market or second behind Mike Vrabel, would go to the Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson had great seasons as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator and was in high demand. Advertisement The Bears stepped up and got the deal done to hire Johnson. Maybe they realized they were in danger of completely alienating an elite prospect who was supposed to finally dig the franchise out of its horrific quarterback history. In the book preview the Williams family was skeptical of then-Bears coach Matt Eberflus and his offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and that proved to be right too. In one startling passage, Williams said he would watch film alone without any coaching guidance. "No one tells me what to watch," Caleb Williams told his dad, via Wickersham's book. "I just turn it on." Johnson was brought in to change that culture, which has been a reason Bears quarterbacks haven't succeeded for decades. And if you read between the lines on what Johnson told "The Herd" on Thursday, in response to the excerpts from Wickersham's book, it's clear he too needs to distance himself from the Bears' past. Advertisement "I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear," Johnson told "The Herd" via Jeremy Bergman of "He's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025." Will Caleb Williams succeed with the Chicago Bears? (Photo by) (Todd Rosenberg via Getty Images) Chicago tries to get it right Chicago truly is where quarterbacks go to die. The Bears haven't had a first-team All-Pro quarterback since 1950. Since 1963, only two Bears quarterbacks have made the Pro Bowl. Jim McMahon was on the team in 1985 and Mitchell Trubisky made it in 2018 as a replacement. The Bears have famously never had a 4,000-yard season from a quarterback. Advertisement It's fairly amazing the Bears have never figured out the modern passing game. Williams' father was right to be wary of sending his son to a franchise that has never developed a star at quarterback, unless you count Sid Luckman about 80 years ago. Williams had a tough rookie season. Some of his stats were fine but he took a league-leading 68 sacks and often looked overwhelmed. Waldron was fired and Williams had maybe his best stretch with Thomas Brown as the team's interim offensive coordinator. In typical Bears fashion, they screwed up that momentum by promoting Brown to interim head coach when they fired Eberflus. The Bears have done plenty this offseason to help out Williams. Johnson was hired and he is considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The Bears got three new starters for the interior of their offensive line. They drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. With all the moves the Bears have made to build up around Williams, he should succeed. There's a lot of pressure for Johnson and the team to get it right. But this is the Bears. There is a Super Bowl era's worth of history working against Johnson and Williams. If the Bears can't get it right with Williams, the next quarterback prospect they eye in the draft might actually follow through with Williams' threats.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How did Jeff Fisher end up as Titans coach in Super Bowl 34? It starts with expletive, injury
Editor's note: This is part of a series looking back at the Tennessee Titans' run to Super Bowl 34 during the 1999 season. Jeff Fisher had two words for Buddy Ryan on Jan. 22, 1986, in New Orleans. Two words that launched what turned out to be a 31-year NFL coaching career, 22 of which were spent as a head coach, including 17 with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans. "(Expletive) you!" On paper, Fisher was a defensive back for the Chicago Bears in what would have been his fifth NFL season, if not for an ankle injury that prematurely ended his playing career. In reality, he was a 27-year-old de facto coach who shadowed Ryan, then the Bears' defensive coordinator, at every opportunity. Super Bowl 20 was four days away. The Bears were practicing for what turned out to be a 46-10 victory against the New England Patriots. Ryan, whose feuds with then-Bears head coach Mike Ditka were well documented, was planning to leave, with hopes of becoming head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. He wanted Fisher to go with him. As an assistant coach. "He goes, 'Hey, Guppy,' " Fisher told The Tennessean. "That was my nickname. We had a big tight end (a couple of years earlier), Bob Fisher, so I was little fish. "Anyway, he turned to me and he goes, 'Guppy, you and your girlfriend, y'all getting married?' I said, 'Well, we're talking about it.' He said, 'Well, you either need to get married or have her throw a retirement party for you, because you can't (expletive) play anymore.' " Then Fisher's two words, followed by four more for good measure. "I said, '(Expletive) you!" Fisher said. "I'm gonna keep trying!' " "He said, 'I want you to put the defense in for me.' " Ryan was right. Fisher's playing days were over. But his coaching days were just about to begin. Ryan landed the Eagles job and hired Fisher to be his defensive backs coach. By the time he was 30, Fisher was the youngest defensive coordinator in the league. Fourteen years after those two words, on Jan. 30, 2000, Fisher found himself on the Titans' sideline in the Georgia Dome. He was the head coach in a Super Bowl that produced one of the best finishes in NFL history when Titans receiver Kevin Dyson came up "One Yard Short" as time expired in the 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Of the 350 regular-season and postseason games that Fisher spent as a head coach, this one hurts the most. Fisher said he didn't watch the final series of that game until "a couple of years ago," to prepare for an interview. "I didn't run from it," Fisher said. "I saw it. I lived it. I was part of it, and I didn't feel like I needed to go and see it again . . . I knew what happened. I was more disappointed for the players, and specifically Steve (McNair), because of what a phenomenal job he did." The what-ifs from that day have been washed away by the memories that got the Titans there in the first place. The Titans were on their fourth home stadium and second team name by the time the pyseason rolled around. In 1996, they were the Houston Oilers playing in the Astrodome in Houston. In 1997, they were the Tennessee Oilers playing in Memphis. In 1998, they were the Tennessee Oilers playing at Vanderbilt. In 1999, they were the Tennessee Titans playing in what is now Nissan Stadium, and. The Titans went 9-0 there that year en route to a 13-3 record, en route to the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1993 and its first playoff win since 1991. The respect, not to mention the expectations, was lacking that season. That never was more evident than during a Super Bowl news conference, when a reporter asked Fisher about all of the moving around — and referred to him as Steve Fisher, a college basketball coach. "I said, 'My name is Jeff, and it's actually five (stadiums) if you include Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville,' " Fisher said. "That was a shot across the bow that, still to this day, people are (expletive) about." Jeff Fisher went on to coach the Rams for four seasons after leaving the Titans. Since leaving the NFL after the 2016 season, he has coached in the USFL, been involved with the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League, and was named commissioner of Arena Football One. The grandfather of seven said that 1999 season went way beyond the "Music City Miracle" and "One Yard Short." "It was the stuff that led up to it," he said. "Everything we had been through as a team, as a franchise, wasn't an easy run. "(Former general manager) Floyd Reese and I, we felt convicted by the decisions we were making and what kind of team we put on the field. Most people, to start the season, didn't give us any credit at all. We ended up undefeated at home and they're still not paying attention to you." Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@ and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here. MOCK, MOCK. WHO'S THERE? 2025 NFL Mock Draft: How Titans can land a superstar WR and pass rusher with 1 trade QB OR NOT QB? Tennessee Titans picking at top of 'weak' NFL draft QB class. How top prospects feel about label This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Two words began Jeff Fisher's path to becoming Titans Super Bowl coach
