Caleb Williams gets 100% real on how Matt Eberflus "annoyed" Bears players

Caleb Williams was immediately hailed as the savior of the Chicago Bears as soon as they drafted him first overall in 2024. But the initial promise of a 4-2 start dissipated thanks to blunders by then-head coach Matt Eberflus, and they eventually finished 5-12 - the only team in the AFC North with a losing record.

In a feature interview for men's lifestyle magazine Esquire, the incoming sophomore quarterback went into depth about the team's notorious 15-18 loss at the Washington Commanders late in October - the one that saw Noah Brown catch a walkoff 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown. He said:

“How he handled it at that time, for that game, was, I think, one of the things that throughout the locker room people talked about and were annoyed by.”

He continued:

“Right in that moment, you’re angry . . . you’re furious that you lost and you lost in that way.”

That loss was the first of ten straight that also included another disastrous end-game blunder. In the Thanksgiving game at the Detroit Lions, Eberflus failed to call his last remaining timeout and could only watch as Caleb Williams' final passing attempt fell incomplete. The day after the game, the Bears fired him - the first midseason dismissal of a head coach in franchise history.

---

Caleb Williams hopes Bears' in-season struggles never happen again

Winning the Week 18 finale at the Green Bay Packers must have represented a huge sigh of relief for Caleb Williams, who admitted in the same interview that the losing streak left him “so beat up mentally, physically [and] spiritually” that he was shedding tears upon getting to bed.

For 2025, the Bears are beginning a new chapter. Ben Johnson has crossed over from the Lions as the new head coach. The offensive line got a major upgrade when general manager Ryan Poles traded for Pro Bowl guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. More importantly, they have the 10th overall pick that they are expected to use on a tackle who will man their quarterback's blind side.

All these developments have made Caleb Williams very enthusiastic about his team's prospects. According to him, the only thing left to do is "go win big" - a far cry from the futility that has come to define the post-Lovie Smith years:

“I think those losses were pretty important for me and my growth. To go on a losing streak, to be in this position and be at the helm of it, was definitely important for me. Just being able to see how I need to be when times are bad... I’m going to work my tail off to never be in that situation again.”

The Bears will host a voluntary minicamp from April 21 to 23, just before the draft.