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After the Chicago Bears made the controversial decision to retain Matt Eberflus after securing the first-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, more than a few fans thought the team had made a mistake.
Sure, Matt Eberflus' defenses had always been good, and he seemed like a solid enough leader of men, as his record with Justin Fields as his QB clearly proved, but 2024 clearly proved that the infrastructure wasn't in place for Caleb Williams to succeed as a rookie, as his play was widely inconsistent, if not a bit worse than fans were expecting. Eberflus was eventually fired, and the Bears have been downright bad ever since, with fans already looking ahead to the team in 2025.
Discussing what he's seen from Williams in 2024 and what he believes is best for the USC quarterback moving forward, former head coach Dave Wannstedt told Colin Cowherd on his FS1 show that he wants to see Chicago hire an offensive-minded head coach with an extensive track record of success at the NFL level.
“You want somebody, I think, at the Bears that’s an offensive-minded coach that can grow with Caleb,” Wannstedt told reporters. “Now, when you look at these offensive coaches, I wouldn’t look at a one-year wonder offensive coordinator or a six-game offensive coordinator. You look at some guys that have some history to them, two or three years.”
Asked why he feels that way, Wannstedt noted that it just makes things easier, as a proven offensive scheme can make a world of a difference in an NFL transition.
“I think that it helps the young quarterbacks immensely,” Wannstedt explained. ” If you’ve got a young quarterback and you could run the football boy, does that help him as far as being in manageable third downs? That’s the opposite of what the Bears are doing.
Is Wannstedt on the money? Would the Bears have been better off if they signed Ben Johnson away from the Detroit Lions or ponied up a better offer than the Carolina Panthers to hire away Dave Canales from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? While it's impossible to say, really, it certainly feels that way, especially as Williams has struggled to get much going under three different offensive coordinators in 2024 and counting. Fortunately, with Eberflus gone and Thomas Brown unlikely to remove the interim tag from his head coaching title due to, shall we say, inconsistent – read: downright bad – play, it would appear fans and Wannstedt alike will get their wish in 2024, as someone, be it Johnson or another offensive mind, will almost certainly be coaching Williams into the future.
