Caleb Williams’ NFL career actually started pretty well. He and the Chicago Bears jumped out to a 4-2 start, only for the bottom to fall out as they lost their next 10 straight games. Williams himself was a little bumpy, which was understandable considering both his head coach and offensive coordinator were fired midseason.
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It turns out, those coaches couldn’t have been fired quickly enough for Williams. Revelations about Williams, his father, Carl, and their attempts to avoid landing in Chicago prior to the 2024 draft have now come to light. There are also testimonies from Williams about how his coaches didn’t do a great job of supporting him. At times, he would watch film by himself with no coaching guidance.
While that seems like a legitimate criticism of his coaches—if not one that he should have shared with an ESPN journalist writing a book—Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner took exception. The man who famously jumped from bagging groceries to NFL MVP said he didn’t need coaches to hold his hand in the film room.
“I never once had a coach sit down and teach me HOW to watch film!!! I might gleen from watching film with them, but no one walked me through it! I watched, asked questions and developed my own means of prep based on what I needed! Not saying the coaches should not have asked, they are coaches & should def know & help coach this, but I don’t think a class in watching film is a “normal” practice at the NFL level (at least based on anything I’ve witnessed)!”
I never once had a coach sit down and teach me HOW to watch film!!! I might gleen from watching film with them, but no one walked me through it! I watched, asked questions and developed my own means of prep based on what I needed!
Not saying the coaches should not have asked,… https://t.co/oWnoaXbZ4O
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) May 17, 2025
For context, the Warner tweet was in response to another by Robert Griffin III, who was more sympathetic towards Williams.
“Caleb Williams not being taught what to watch on film weekly by his Chicago coaches last year was coaching malpractice. Just because it’s the NFL doesn’t mean that the development stops. If you want your QB to see the game like you, then teach him how to watch tape like you do.”
Warner is right that players should take some initiative, but he’s kind of pursuing a straw man argument here. Williams’ issue was simply that no one told him what to watch. He wasn’t saying that he didn’t know how to watch film, he just wanted some guidance on what he should be focusing on.
In the end, these bombshells don’t really matter to Ben Johnson and the new crew in town. They’ve come in with a clear goal of setting Williams up for success. They’ve acquired loads of quality offensive linemen and skill position players through free agency and the draft.
And considering both Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron were fired midseason, it seems like Williams’ gripes were more than reasonable anyway.
