It seemed that Carl Williams, father of Bears QB Caleb Williams, was throwing some serious shade at HC Matt Eberflus after the team’s loss to the Commanders last Sunday. Just two words on Twitter, left there for about 20 minutes, were enough to ignite this thought in fans’ minds. However, he says he hadn’t meant anything by them.
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Carl reposted a video of Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt saying that he “didn’t see much” of QB Jayden Daniels’ iconic Hail Mary pass during the game. The first-year DC explained he was aggravated about his unit allowing the Bears to take the lead moments earlier. He missed the iconic moment as he stood up and turned away from the field in frustration.
This prompted Carl to tweet out the hashtags #accountability and #realcoach, which many understandably thought were shots at Eberflus. However, according to 670TheScore’s Shane Riordan, Williams’ words were “an innocent comment” that had “nothing to do with the Bears.
The tweet has since been deleted, but I talked to Caleb Williams’s dad Carl. He tells me—
“Innocent comment. I like what the Commanders are doing over there. I know some of those guys. Nothing to do with the Bears.”https://t.co/T5GXWyYPga pic.twitter.com/63Ezxu2gNe
— Shane Riordan (@shane_riordan) October 31, 2024
The elder Williams criticizing Eberflus would not be good for Chicago’s locker room morale. But fans, including Riordan himself, didn’t seem to be upset about Williams bashing the team’s coaching staff and front office.
He said what he said and I’m glad that he did. He knows the Bears coaching staff is not putting his son and his teammates in the best position to win.
— Herb Lawrence (@Ecnerwal23) October 31, 2024
I’m sure he meant it to apply to the Bears coaches. I thank him for it. Poles better pay attention.
— Matthew Sheriff (@msheriff12) October 31, 2024
Think what you want. Carl Williams is an INCREDIBLE father & simply cares about his son. He said what he said and it’s not false.
The guy has put his kid in the perfect position to be successful. He just wants to see leadership do the same thing he’s done for the last 22 years.
— Shane Riordan (@shane_riordan) October 31, 2024
Eberflus has been under fire since the disaster that was the Sunday game. Players openly questioned some of the coaching decisions from the game.
On the Commanders’ penultimate play, the Bears opted to defend the middle of the field, which allowed Terry McLaurin to make a 13-yard reception along the sideline, enabling him to step out of bounds. This decision proved critical as it set up the opportunity for a final play that resulted in a game-winning touchdown for Washington.
The way the Bears lost, particularly the decisions that contributed to the Commanders’ demoralizing final drive, has brought a lot of heat to Eberflus’s doorstep. So, it’s not a surprise that fans weren’t all that upset with Carl.
Eberflus and the Bears have a chance to redeem themselves as they face another crucial stretch in the next two games against the beatable Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots teams before they head into NFC North play.
