Ryan Poles and most of the Chicago Bears front office felt Caleb Williams was the right pick at #1 overall last year. Things didn’t go as hoped. The rookie looked unsettled and outright lost at times. He wasn’t helped by a coaching situation widely considered among the worst in the NFL. Yet some would already have you think the quarterback is a lost cause. It is nothing more than the Mitch Trubisky situation all over again. They took the wrong guy. At least that is how Tyler Dunne of Go Long has painted it.

His recent column revealed a lot of supposed red flags about Williams going into the draft. He didn’t have a great work ethic, did not take notes, and looked unprepared during the workout the Bears held. Worse still, Poles rigged the pre-draft process by making it seem like Williams was the only logical option. Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were afterthoughts. However, there was one dissenting voice in the crowd. One of the team’s scouts apparently fought back against the idea of taking Williams.

Then he got fired for it.

The only resistance amid the laughfest came from one of the team’s top evaluators: Chris White. And when White advocated for that Tar Heel quarterback being mocked on the screen, he was completely shut down. Poles appeared “annoyed” and “pissed off,” one source says, that Maye was even brought up. The tape was eventually shut off — for good.

“The guy was basically announced as a joke,” one scout adds. “Poles is basically saying Drake can’t even play in the NFL.

“Chris was the only one with the balls to call out the truth. Instead of taking that — which you should as a general manager — and saying, ‘My best evaluator is trying to tell me something,’ Poles really made everything harder on him. Which is the opposite of what it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a discussion in there. There was none.”

Not surprisingly, White is no longer with the Bears.

There are serious issues with this Caleb Williams story.

While it is certainly plausible that White spoke out against the quarterback in favor of others, the idea that he was the team’s top evaluator needs some context. For one, White was a pro scout. Since arriving in 2014, he spent his entire time with the organization on that side of the scouting department. He never once dabbled in the college end of things. So to say he knew immediately that Williams wasn’t the guy is presumptuous.

Then there is Dunne’s assertion that White was fired because he spoke out. There is zero evidence to support this, especially when White took a job as Washington’s director of pro scouting, a promotion from his role as assistant director of pro scouting in Chicago. The Bears didn’t push him out. They let him leave for a higher position elsewhere.

Dunne offered zero proof that White was pushed out. He merely let people speculate that was the case. A martyr was needed, and he was as good a one as any. Meanwhile, Caleb Williams is left taking the hits for something out of his control.

Beating the Minnesota Vikings is a headache. Talent aside, they are a well-coached team headlined by the man at the top. Kevin O’Connell is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. He turned Sam Darnold into a Pro Bowler last season. The Chicago Bears struggled to stop them in both meetings, allowing 30+ points in each. Head coach Ben Johnson knows that winning the big opener at Soldier Field starts with finding a way to slow the Vikings down. Unfortunately, it appears the Bears may be operating without a full deck.

Johnson revealed on Saturday that linebacker T.J. Edwards is doubtful to play in the game. The veteran linebacker suffered a hamstring injury at the end of training camp. Though he has tried to get back, the progress hasn’t been fast enough. It sounds like rookie Ruben Hyppolite will get serious action. As for Jaylon Johnson, his status is up in the air. While he has resumed practicing, it isn’t certain if he’s making enough headway to justify playing him this week.

He suffered a nasty groin injury before camp began.

Ben Johnson must hope Dennis Allen has adjustments in mind.

Not having two of your three best defenders going into the opener is never ideal. Edwards is a key part of the Bears’ run defense. Don’t forget Minnesota had over 110 yards on the ground in both games last year. Aaron Jones always gives them problems. If Jaylon is also out, that takes away your best cover corner in a game against Justin Jefferson, one of the three best receivers in the game. Ben Johnson loves a challenge. If he wants to win Monday night, it would be wise not to expect to do so in a low-scoring game. The Bears must put points on the board if they want to pull it out. That suits Johnson just fine. He seems to take a personal delight in giving Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores headaches.

Caleb Williams has come under fire a lot this offseason. Most of it stems from how the 2024 season went down. Despite high expectations, the Chicago Bears collapsed to a 5-12 finish after a 3-2 start. Williams was highly inconsistent, taking 68 sacks and looking utterly lost at times. In the past week, a scathing report came out from Tyler Dunne of Go Long, suggesting Williams showcased immaturity and poor work ethic leading up to the 2024 draft. Things didn’t get any better as rifts began developing between him and the former coaching staff.

Things got even stranger when the report delved more into Williams himself. Multiple personnel people believe the quarterback suffers from a significant disorder that has gone undiagnosed.

Multiple personnel men tell Go Long they saw evidence that Williams has dyslexia. The matter, however, was never a topic in draft meetings.

“Completely hidden,” adds one scout…

…Go Long asked one Bears source, who says he saw evidence of dyslexia, if there’s any chance Poles somehow missed it himself before the pick. Perhaps, it evaded his purview? This person immediately interrupted me to say such a scenario is “impossible.” A word he repeats six times because, he notes, the GM has access to everything. “It’s not even feasible to imagine a general manager not having access to every single player’s medical,” he adds.

This would be problematic for an NFL quarterback.

Dyslexia is a neurological condition in which people struggle with word reading and spelling, leading to low phonological awareness, verbal memory, and processing speed. Name a position in professional sports that does more reading and digesting of information than a quarterback. You see the problem. It would explain why Williams often isn’t seen taking notes or reading his playbook. He struggles with it.

Does this mean Caleb Williams is a lost cause?

Not at all. Dyslexia is not a death sentence for an NFL player. Green Bay Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary suffers from it. So did legendary running back Frank Gore. Mark Schlereth, who was a three-time Super Bowl champion guard, did too. Caleb Williams is hardly incapable of overcoming this issue. There are several ways for people with dyslexia to do so. A great way to do this is through visual learning with diagrams and demonstrations while practicing simplified communication with clear, broken-down instructions. Head coach Ben Johnson has no issues with such an approach. He’s been on top of Williams every step of the way, constantly making corrections when mistakes are made.

If this disorder is real, it doesn’t change anything. Williams is still an uber-talented player who can reach the highest levels. The only changes will be how the Bears instruct him.

The truth is, you never really know what is going on behind the scenes. GM Ryan Poles has always presented things as relatively cohesive inside Halas Hall, at least where the front office is concerned. He, his executives, and his scouts have been on the same page with the Chicago Bears’ player evaluation process since he arrived in 2022. However, recent events suggest that might not be the case, and never was. Tyler Dunne of Go Long has released a multiple-part story about how ugly the operation was in Chicago before and after the 2024 draft.

In the article, Poles is slammed for zeroing in on Caleb Williams months in advance, never giving any credence to other quarterback options. Anonymous sources also accused him of intentionally sabotaging film sessions for Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, downplaying their NFL viability. Whenever somebody raised concerns about Williams or tried to defend other options, they were dismissed. One Bears scout went so far as to say Poles is a fraud. He’s an insecure person only interested in having yes men around him. Nothing about him exudes leadership.

“He is not a leader,” says one Bears scout in that ’24 room. “I’ve worked with people who are leaders that worked and motivated you. They’ve got a human element where they get to know you. You want to do a good job for them. He is ill-equipped for the job. He doesn’t possess any of that. He likes the people who kiss up to him, as opposed to somebody who can smell that out and wouldn’t want those people around him. A good leader — a good GM — has people keep you in check. They should disagree with you and challenge you. He doesn’t like that.”

Ryan Poles lost considerable power since then.

Jeff Hughes of Sports Mockery made that clear. Since arriving in January, new head coach Ben Johnson appears to have secured primary say over personnel decisions. The only reason Ryan Poles was extended was because the coach gave his blessing. That should tell you how much credibility the GM has lost. While he’s a smart guy who understands how to operate a capable front office, his inability to foster an organization of accountability and winning mentality was painfully obvious throughout his first three years. Nobody questions his commitment to the job. Unfortunately, some people aren’t cut out to be leaders. Johnson will assume that role moving forward, and it’s probably for the best. Poles still has plenty of value from a scouting and asset management standpoint. Removing him from the primary leadership position is best for everyone.

The hiring of Ben Johnson was a genuine shock. Nobody expected the Chicago Bears to get it done. This was the top candidate on the market. This franchise never landed those. They always settled for some second or third-tier option people didn’t care for but could be talked into. Johnson is the first one Bears fans genuinely wanted. That the team made it happen was a great joy. It also led to questions. There had to be a catch. Sure, Caleb Williams was a nice lure, but there is no way Johnson takes this job for that reason alone. The Bears must’ve guaranteed him something.

One persistent theory was that Johnson would have a large degree of power on the personnel front. Johnson would have the final say on player acquisitions. Many dismissed this. The Bears had only allowed that amount of sway for a coach once, and it lasted a year. It seems so unlikely they’d change course, even for somebody like Johnson. Well, we finally got confirmation. Jeff Hughes of Sports Mockery revealed it on Twitter (X), basically stating Johnson has the power in the organization now. That Ryan Poles extension only happened because he gave the green light.

Ben Johnson had a clear influence on the Bears’ entire offseason.

It started with free agency. It was no coincidence that Chicago made the offensive line its first three moves with Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman. Then, it shifted to the draft, where the offensive guys were the first three picks. Dig even deeper. The fact that they took a tight end (Colston Loveland) and a wide receiver (Luther Burden) with the first two picks despite neither position being a pressing need was a departure from Poles’ usual modus operandi. Each pick felt more about taking the best talent on the board rather than the biggest need. That is something Ben Johnson picked up in Detroit while watching Brad Holmes.

If this is how things will go from now on, the Bears might be okay. Johnson is a smart man who has a sharp eye for talent. He’s also much more of a natural leader than Poles. He is the one voice you want in the locker room. Let Poles be the scout. Every major decision will go through the head coach. It might not be typical of many organizations, but it might be what’s best for this one.

Everybody remembers a couple of months ago. Seth Wickersham of ESPN reported that Caleb Williams had reservations about joining the Chicago Bears ahead of the 2024 draft. He knew their poor QB development history and misgivings about their current coaching staff. Then, as the season unfolded, he was dismayed that the team didn’t help him watch film, something he wasn’t used to. Unsurprisingly, Matt Eberflus, Shane Waldron, and other former coaches took a beating in the media for those revelations.

Given how the season played out, it makes sense that things got pretty bad behind the scenes. However, some of those coaches apparently didn’t appreciate Williams sharing such details about what happened, especially when they were outright lies, at least according to one such coach. Tyler Dunne of Go Long spoke with multiple people about what happened last year in Chicago. One coach chose to fire back at the quarterback, stating that this entire hit piece from ESPN was nothing more than a cover for the truth.

Williams was always the problem.

In Seth Wickersham’s upcoming book, American Kings, Williams told his father that he wasn’t getting any help from the staff. “No one tells me what to watch,” the QB said. “I just turn it on.” When this quote went viral, I was actually on the phone with one former Bears offensive assistant.

He read it aloud, seethed and called it “evil” on Williams’ part to describe last season in such a manner.

“Do you think we’re not going to meet with this kid and teach him shit?” the coach said. “Who would do that? It’s fucking crazy. I don’t get it. You think we want to be bad? It makes me fucking sick.”

Another coach on offense calls Williams’ complaint “bullshit.”

“For him to say it?” the coach adds. “That guy knows what the hell happened.”

Another coach says this entire staff didn’t merely show up in Chicago and forget how to coach. All have prepared players their entire lives. All have been around top quarterbacks before, and this player’s work ethic was the worst most had ever seen.

Caleb Williams didn’t come across looking great in the report.

Dunne mentioned how multiple people inside Halas Hall had serious reservations about the quarterback, even before the Bears drafted him. His preparation was poor, and his private workout unimpressive. The talent was obvious, but there were major red flags regarding his mastery of the game. Yet GM Ryan Poles seemed hell-bent on picking him anyway, leaving no room for discussion or debate. It smacks of the same unthorough process that led the Bears to Mitch Trubisky in 2017. We all know how that worked out.

In truth, it’s difficult to know how accurate this is and how much it is a bunch of coaches feeling bitter about how things ended in Chicago. As things usually are, it’s probably somewhere in between. The coaching staff didn’t do nearly enough to prepare Caleb Williams or hold him accountable. On the other hand, the #1 overall pick didn’t show any appreciation for the work it takes to succeed at this level. Hence was the season was a complete s**t show.

In 2017, GM Ryan Pace was railroaded for what many felt was a lack of a true open scouting process for the upcoming quarterback class. Many inside Halas Hall felt he decided to draft Mitch Trubisky early, not allowing scouts or coaches a greater say in the matter. Patrick Mahomes was another option they liked, but Pace didn’t seem interested in delving deeper. Worse still, they didn’t even bother meeting with Deshaun Watson. We all know what happened. Trubisky floundered after some early promise, while Mahomes became a superstar and Watson went to Pro Bowls. It was hoped Ryan Poles wouldn’t make that same mistake when he got his chance.

If the new report from Tyler Dunne of Go Long is to be believed, history repeated itself. Chicago held the #1 overall pick in the 2024 draft. Most people expected Caleb Williams to be the pick. It panned out that way. What nobody knew at the time, according to Dunne, is that Poles essentially rigged the process. Not only did he elevate Williams during film sessions, but he also downplayed the other top quarterbacks.

The Chicago Bears general manager, it appeared, was implanting the worst possible first impression he could inside the minds of his personnel men.

It wasn’t pretty. Under constant duress, he completed less than half of his passes vs. Clemson. He ran for his life vs. Miami.

Clicker in hand, at the center of the room, Poles repeatedly hit rewind on errant passes and it didn’t take long for those echoes of “Geez!” to turn into outright laughter…

…“They made fun of him,” says one Bears scout in the room. “They laughed. The GM laughed Drake Maye off the screen, and cut the tape off.”

Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels never had a chance.

Not once, sources in the room say, did Poles open up the floor to ask a simple question: Who’s a better quarterback: Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels? “Jayden Daniels was clearly — clearly — a better quarterback,” says one scout. “If he didn’t want to go with Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels was clearly a better quarterback to anyone with an eye.”

People inside the building weren’t naive. They recognized what Poles was doing, and knew it threatened to cripple the evaluation of the most important draft pick in Bears history.

“The quarterback process? I would not even call it a process,” says one scout in the room. “The Caleb Williams draft pick was the most embarrassing lack of a process — a fair, impartial process to scouting — that I’ve ever seen in my life. There wasn’t any type of actual comparison on a fair slate to which quarterback is actually better.

“They had it all lined up. It was a rigged trial.”

Ryan Poles went in with his mind made up.

That is an incredibly shortsighted decision. Now, sometimes, it makes sense because there is only one clear quarterback option. Such was not the case last year. Three guys had the talent, production, and pedigree to become NFL stars. Even if you have your heart set on Williams, you still must do right by the organization and give the other guys a fair shake. Ryan Poles didn’t do that. He wanted Williams and didn’t want anybody else getting in his way. If the report is accurate, he set about guiding the front office towards his line of thinking.

It worked. The Bears took Williams. What followed was a disaster of a rookie season, categorized by countless sacks, bad body language, and immediate questions about his ability to play the position as a professional. Daniels went to the NFC championship, and Maye had an efficient first year.

Yet what stands out about this isn’t that Poles fell in love with Williams and would not be swayed. It might’ve been motivated by fear.

“If I don’t take him, the media will kill me.”

Poles reportedly said that in December of 2023, as it became clear the Bears would get the #1 overall pick. Not a great thing for a GM to say, even behind closed doors.

It feels like every month a new story surfaces about Caleb Williams rookie year. The latest comes from highly respected NFL writer Tyler Dunne, founder of Go Long. His article compiles numerous quotes and details from Williams first season, and to put it bluntly, it paints him in a very negative light.

The piece is part of a three-part series titled “House of Dysfunction” that explores the Chicago Bears internal struggles, beginning with Williams 2024 season. According to former Bears coaches, Williams had trouble with basic tasks during OTAs, forcing the staff to simplify the playbook and even adjust snap counts to suit his preferences.

One particular incident on December 26, 2024, during a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, highlighted those tensions. Interim head coach Thomas Brown reportedly clashed with Williams after the rookie refused to engage during a conversation on the sideline. Brown became so frustrated that he told Williams to “get back to him” after Williams simply walked away.

The series is based on interviews with 32 anonymous sources, including former coaches and staff members, who suggest that Williams attitude and work ethic played a major role in the Bears dysfunction. Part II, released the same day, focused on the controversial draft process that led to Williams being selected No. 1 overall in 2024. Part III has yet to be released.

Make no mistake—Tyler Dunne is a credible and well-connected writer. Still, I’m not fully convinced by this portrayal. It’s possible that some of the coaches and staff interviewed simply don’t like Williams or were unhappy with the way last season unfolded. Regardless, I recommend reading the piece. Even if you don’t agree with it, it provides fascinating insight into what’s been happening inside Halas Hall over the past year.

New Insider Story Makes Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams Look Worse Than Ever