It was rumored and eventually confirmed that quarterback Caleb Williams didn’t want to play for the Chicago Bears. His goals for the NFL were to chase Tom Brady’s record of Super Bowl championships and become the greatest of all time. He couldn’t do that for an organization with a reputation for constantly mismanaging the position going back over 40 years. That is why his father, Carl Williams, spent the better part of a year researching possible avenues to circumvent the draft to help Caleb avoid going to Chicago.
According to Seth Wickersham, author of the report, that process included meeting with two NFL legends at one point. He told CHGO Bears that the elder Williams met with former Pro Bowl quarterback Archie Manning and retired superagent Marvin Demoff to discuss what such a power play would entail.
Demoff and Manning are the only two men who understood the situation Williams was in.
Demoff represented Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway going into the 1983 draft. Elway didn’t want to play for the Baltimore Colts, who held the #1 pick. Demoff was the one who engineered the idea of using baseball as leverage to threaten the Colts into trading his rights elsewhere. Elway was soon dealt to Denver. As for Manning, he spent most of his career playing for a listless organization in New Orleans and felt the San Diego Chargers had a similar reputation. That is why he declared before the 2004 draft that his son, Eli Manning, would not play for them.
Caleb Williams came dangerously close to pulling the trigger.
Wickersham used an analogy. “The gasoline was out, but not the matches.” What happened was the quarterback chose to give the Bears at least a chance to make their case. Here is where GM Ryan Poles shined. He made it clear from the outset that the team would pick Caleb Williams. There was no Plan B. He was their guy. Beyond that, he sold the quarterback on the organization’s changing culture and the idea of becoming the one who turns the franchise’s fortunes around. Williams came away intrigued by the pitch. Eventually, he made the decision not to go through with the plan. He’d let the Bears draft him and take the challenge.
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Unfortunately, the fears about the organization were proven accurate. The coaching staff was a completely shit show all year, made worse by a porous offensive line. Williams received a rough beating all year and several blows to his confidence. However, the Bears didn’t wait long to correct the issues. They lured top offensive mind Ben Johnson to Chicago as the new head coach and spent lavishly upgrading the protection. Williams is finally set up for success. One can only imagine where things might’ve gone if he’d opted to pull the rip cord.