The Chicago Bears are casting a wide net to replace former head coach Matt Eberflus, and Caleb Williams has some ideas of what he wants in a head coach.
Chicago’s QB1 went on the St. Brown podcast with brothers Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown on Wednesday. On the podcast, Williams spoke about qualities that he hopes the new coach will have.
“Selfishly, I want an offensive-minded guy so I can build with him and be with that coach for the next 19, 17, 15 years, and so I can also learn and grow from him and what he’s seen and what he’s gone through with maybe other QBs,” Williams said.
Williams said that he would also be happy with “an overall grand scheme coach” if he had some of the right qualities. He wants a coach who was “strong-minded” and “a leader of men,” someone who can bring together a championship-winning team. “That’s the only goal that I have,” Williams said, of winning a championship.
The young quarterback also spoke about the “tight” Chicago locker room, who managed to stay positive despite going 5-12 on the season. “We were losing and all of that, (and) the locker room was still the same, from training camp to the end of the season,” Williams said.
Beyond leadership and talent, Williams mentioned — multiple times — that he wants a coach who was good with time management. The request is notable given that the final straw with Eberflus (who had a long history of questionable decision-making) was a disastrously mismanaged final play in a three-point loss to the Detroit Lions that infuriated the locker room.
Earlier in Wednesday’s episode, the three players had spoken about Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, a Bears head coach candidate whose name was involved in Williams getting catfished last week. Based on Williams’ ideal attributes, Johnson, who was interviewed by the Bears on Jan. 11, would be a good fit for the young quarterback — much to Detroit receiver Amon-Ra’s chagrin.
Amon-Ra, Williams’ former teammate at USC, joked that he had been bashing on Williams to Johnson in an attempt to dissuade him from going to Chicago.
“Just so you know, I told Ben ‘Caleb is f***ing trash, like, you don’t want to go there,'” Amon-Ra joked. “I said, ‘Caleb’s a diva, he’s a selfish motherf***er, he’s gonna want everything on his own, thinks he’s the smartest guy in the world, not coachable.'”
Amon-Ra’s tactic also went for Johnson, who has been the target of numerous head coaching interviews: “If anyone’s going to ask me, ‘How’s Ben?’ ‘Ben’s trash, he can’t call plays…'” Amon-Ra said.
Despite Amon-Ra’s hope to keep Johnson from leaving Detroit, the three seemed resigned to the fact that Johnson, who had four head coach interviews last weekend, was probably heading somewhere else this offseason.
“He’s gone,” Equanimeous chimed in to his brother. “Say goodbye. Let him go.”
Williams added that he wanted a coach with “a fire to him” that could match his own. “I don’t want people that don’t have a fire,” Williams said. “I think that I got a certain fire about me, inside of me that certain people can’t coach.”
This brought Williams back to Johnson.
“If it’s Ben, then…” Williams said, trailing off and giving Amon-Ra a look. “If it’s not, then it is what it is.”
As of Wednesday, the Bears have interviewed or requested to interview 15 candidates for the position. Eight of those candidates — which include notable names like Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and more — have already completed their interviews.
