Bears interim coach Thomas Brown has had a lot thrown at him in his whirlwind of promotions over the past month, but there’s still one clear priority for him and the organization: Keep rookie quarterback Caleb Williams on the rise.
Williams took flight again when Brown stepped in as offensive coordinator and play caller ahead of the Week 11 Packers game, and the biggest concern about making him head coach after Matt Eberflus got fired was that it seemed unwise to tinker with a structure that was working so well for Williams.
The Bears had a lot of problems — virtually everything but the punter, who had a busy day — in their 38-13 loss to the 49ers on Sunday. And while Williams finished with a 116.9 passer rating for his fourth consecutive game at 95 or higher, he hardly looked like he was making progress.
The game was over at halftime, when the Bears were down 24-0, had four net yards on offense, had yet to cross midfield, punted on all five possessions and Williams was 6 for 9 for 27 yards. The rest of what he did to finish 17 of 23 for 134 yards and two touchdowns was only mildly encouraging.
Brown is adjusting to the new role in a hurry and has a little bit of margin this week to tweak his approach ahead of the Bears’ visit to the Vikings on Monday, but didn’t see any difference in his and Williams’ in-game communication on the sideline than when he was offensive coordinator up in the booth.
“As far as what we discussed, it was the same as it was before,” Brown said. “It just happened faster and obviously in real time because I was on the grass.”
Williams remains the driver of the Bears’ long-range ambition of being a contender. His short-term success matters, too, regardless of the team being 4-9, and it’s Brown’s best path to a head-coaching job here or elsewhere.
In a total reversal of their plan going into the season, the Bears once again are hoping their rookie can carry them as everything around him crumbles. That’s not good.