He may never admit it, but Shane Waldron likely took the job as Chicago Bears offensive coordinator because he knew it would give him the opportunity to work with Caleb Williams. That is honestly the only reason that makes sense. Lots of other teams were interested in hiring him. To take the Bears job before fully exploring those possibilities suggests they had strong enough bait. Holding the #1 overall pick and the rights to Williams was the most obvious. Remember, Waldron has spent most of his coaching career on the west coast. He probably saw the USC star play several times.
Waldron has spent a couple of months working with Williams before and after the draft. Minicamps wrapped up this week, and the Bears are set to break for the summer. The offensive coordinator spoke to the media about his quarterback’s progress and his first impressions. Waldron noticed something right away that isn’t normal for rookie quarterbacks. Williams isn’t only interested in learning what a play in the playbook does. He also wants to know why that play is designed the way it is.
The reason? He doesn’t want to play like a robot.
Shane Waldron already knows Williams gets it.
One of the primary issues with previous Bears quarterbacks is they suffered from something called Good Soldier Syndrome. They learn a play, what is expected from them, and do their best to run it. They don’t stop to assess the different ways it could be adjusted to better work in given situations. Mitch Trubisky had that problem. Justin Fields had that problem. Williams is proving to be different. He understands the pitfalls of rigidly sticking to how a play is drawn up. Sometimes, the defense dictates the necessity to make adjustments.
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Former Green Bay legend Brett Favre learned this during his time with the Packers. During one game against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, he saw their defense was prepared for the exact play called. Rather than change the play, Favre informed his top receiver, Antonio Freeman, to change his route to a vertical. San Francisco was caught completely by surprise, and Freeman was wide open for the TD. Williams hopes to do those things as he grows more comfortable in the offense Shane Waldron installs.
His full potential will be unlocked once he gains command of the system.
