It is not a secret that the Chicago Bears offense has struggled under Caleb Williams through the first nine games of the 2024 NFL season, which led to the ouster of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday morning. However, the players reportedly want head coach Matt Eberflus to make a different change at the most important position in football.
Multiple veteran players asked for Tyson Bagent to play quarterback instead of the No. 1 overall pick.
Williams is 4-5 to begin his NFL career. He has completed 60.5% of his passes for 1,785 yards and nine touchdowns with five interceptions. The Chicago Bears have gone 23 straight drives without a touchdown. They have also allowed 38 sacks, many of which are on the quarterback for holding onto the ball too long.
As the offense continues to flounder, players went to Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles with a demand for Waldron to be let go. According to Marc Silverman of ESPN Radio, some of the veteran players also asked for a change at quarterback.
After talking to a few people with knowledge of the situation, players went to Matt Eberflus & Ryan Poles asking them to make a change at offensive coordinator.
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) November 12, 2024
There have also been a few veteran players requesting Bagent starts. https://t.co/h3QSrhZjQ1
This comes just one day after Adam Schefter mentioned the possibility of a switch during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. He foresaw a major change , but he wasn’t quite sure what it would be.
I would expect that they’ll be some sort of change in Chicago on the offensive side of the football. Is that changing the play caller? Is that changing the quarterback and benching Caleb Williams for Tyson Bagent? I think all these things are being discussed in the building today.
— Adam Schefter
Not too long after Schefter’s hit, Eberflus took the podium for a press conference. The (soon-to-be-fired) third-year coach made it abundantly clear that Williams is the guy moving forward. Chicago is not going to relegate the former Heisman Trophy winner to the bench. It will not hand the keys to Bagent.
Caleb is our starter […]
There will be changes, adjustments, being made. I’m not going to disclose those right now. I’m not at that point in the process. Monday is a long day in terms of the evaluation of everything, in terms of lineups, in terms of the coaching, in terms of how we need to do better in that coaching and in that communication in-game, during the game, after the game, prior to the game. It’s important that we take time to make those decisions and make the right decisions that’s for the Bears, best for the Bears going forward this week and going forward into the future.
— Matt Eberflus
The aforementioned change was the ouster of Waldron. Caleb Williams will remain as the starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Packers despite these supposed requests from the players. Tyson Bagent will continue to serve as the backup.