The Chicago Bears’ senior leadership met with the media during the Annual League Meeting in Orlando, Florida, over the past two days. Speaking about the team, their offseason moves, and the NFL Draft, Chairman George McCaskey, Team President Kevin Warren, General Manager Ryan Poles, and Head Coach Matt Eberflus all had a lot to say.
Caleb Williams, the quarterback for USC and likely the first overall pick, was the subject of much discussion. Although none of the Bears revealed their plans, it is generally believed that Williams’ name will be announced first on draft night.
Warren will see Williams once more when he visits the top-30 next week. Warren was a member of the Bears brain team that visited with Williams at the Combine.
In response to a question on Tuesday about what he wants to make an impression on Williams and any other draft picks the Bears could meet, he said:
“They must comprehend these fans’ history and tradition as well as the history and tradition of the Chicago Bears.”
Given the Bears’ lengthy history, there is undoubtedly some tradition to highlight.
Reality is perception.
I can appreciate the Bears’ amazing heritage as an older fan of the team. I was born into the final great Bears football era and grew up watching Walter Payton, the greatest player of all time. Granted, the 1985 squad receives most of the attention, but it was an exciting year to be a fan.
They made the playoffs seven times in the eight years from 1984 and 1991, so they were always in the running.
However, from a painful standpoint, the Bears have only advanced to the postseason seven times since that time.
Out of the past 32 years, seven.
The age of Caleb Williams is 22.
The Bears haven’t won a Super Bowl in almost 40 years, and Williams was only five when the team last took home the NFC Championship.
The age at which Williams and the other upcoming rookies initially became NFL fans is unknown, but the Bears have three winning seasons in the previous fifteen years.
The Bears have had four head coaches and three general managers in the past ten years, and they are a bottom-five team with a.387 winning %.
When college prospects look at the Bears, they see a broken tradition.
Therefore, it would be best to ignore their recent past, and I doubt that discussing Grange, Luckman, Nagurski, Ditka, or Sweetness will have much of an impact on Generation Z.
In addition, Williams is well aware of the Bears’ recent past as he was a huge fan of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers growing up.
“The past is what it was.”
Regarding Griffin, Poles remarked, “To be honest with you, it pisses me off a little bit.” “Because we were employed to end a pattern.
I had experienced the same thing in Kansas City. We were all brought in to disrupt a cycle, Coach Reid. Indeed, we did. These days, nobody discusses earlier times; instead, everyone is focused on the present.
Head coach Andy Reid has led Kansas City to three Super Bowl victories and has never experienced a losing season in his eleven years there. The Chiefs only made three trips to the postseason in the fifteen years prior to Reid’s hiring.
Their comeback and eventual success was aided by Poles, who rose from scouting assistant to executive director of player personnel.
According to McAfee, the external perspective suggests that this regime is distinct from the previous ones, and the culture of the Poles and Eberflus is beginning to take hold.
Poles expressed his belief that the team will soon end its current trend, put the city in a strong position, and win a lot of games. Thus, history is history. I’m not at all concerned about that. It concerns our future direction.
And that’s in Caleb Williams’ direction, barring a major development.
Changing the course of history
Chicago’s rookie threshold for quarterback play is quite low. Charlie O’Rourke scored the most passing touchdowns (11) and Mitch Trubisky had the most passing yards (2,193).
In addition, the Bears are the only team in the NFL without a quarterback who has passed for 30 touchdowns in a single season or a passer who has 4,000 yards in one.
Since Johnny Lujack in 1950, the Bears have not had an All-Pro quarterback, and during the Super Bowl era, they have only had two quarterbacks selected to the Pro Bowl.
As an organization, the Bears haven’t always been successful in developing quarterbacks, which takes us full circle to Poles’ remarks regarding ending the cycle: “The past is the past.”
Caleb Williams was asked if Chicago’s dismal quarterbacking record concerned him during last month’s NFL Combine.
Not at all. I don’t evaluate myself against the other guys who are or have been in that situation. He declared, “I believe I am my own player.” “I usually enjoy writing and rewriting history.”
As the Chicago Bears prepare for their third season under the Poles/Eberflus regime, their roster is especially prepared to back a rookie quarterback.
According to Williams, the Bears were a 7–10 club after the Combine. “That squad with the first choice is quite good. They also have a strong defense. They have some talented offensive players, and if you can get into a position like that, it can be quite exciting.
These statements were made prior to the Bears trading for Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen and signing free agents D’Andre Swift, a tight end, and Gerald Everett.
Along with adding players, they also fully redesigned the offensive coaching staff to make sure that, should they choose a rookie quarterback, the player’s transition from college to the NFL is smooth.
Placing the top rookie quarterback prospect on a rising team three offseasons into a major rebuild has never happened before in history.
Though Ryan Poles and eventually Caleb Williams will be crafting their own histories in Chicago, he may be able to draw comparisons between what they accomplished in Kansas City and what he is creating there.
