Caleb Williams
Getty
Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
A lot can happen when the commercial breaks air during an NFL game. Most times, when Bud Light ads and/or car commercials take viewers away from the action, nothing is missed.
But what happened during one of those commercial timeouts in late 2024 doesn’t paint Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in a flattering light at all.
Go Long’s Tyler Dunne’s three-part report on the dysfunction surrounding Williams during his rookie season is filled with eyebrow-raisers, but one incident, if true, is particularly disturbing.
According to Dunne, when the Bears hosted the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, which was on December 26, then-interim head coach Thomas Brown tried to explain something to Williams. The young QB didn’t yell or curse — he just turned his head, cut the conversation off and walked back toward the huddle.
More on Tyler Dunne’s Report on Caleb Williams & Thomas Brown’s Altercation
Caleb Williams, Bears
GettyAccording to a report by Tyler Dunne, former Bears coach Thomas Brown and Caleb Williams had an ugly altercation.
“Williams was more source of turmoil, than victim,” Dunne wrote, before describing the incident between Brown and Williams in great detail:
Commercials rolled during a timeout, so nobody at home saw this poignant moment that perfectly summarized the 2024 Chicago Bears. … Thomas Brown tried to explain something to his starting quarterback and… no. Williams was not having it. An auto-response kicked in. As he had done many times to many coaches all season, Williams turned his head and walked away. Shane Waldron, before getting fired as offensive coordinator, used to stay quiet. Not Brown. Not a stern, blunt, old-school coach who believed this 22-year-old crossed a line of disrespect. The typically calm coach lost it. On the headset, another Bears assistant coach recalls Brown pressing the mic to finish his conversation: ‘Get your ass back here right now! Don’t fucking walk away when I’m talking to you!’ Unfazed, Williams sashayed away. Right back to the huddle.
Williams had arrived in Chicago with loads of hype — he’s a Heisman Trophy winner with a generational arm and loads of charisma. Fans believed, ownership believed, even the front office seemed to believe so strongly that the rest of the process would simply sort itself out.
Instead, the Bears cycled through multiple firings, staggered to 5-12, and ended up with a rookie quarterback who, if this report is to be believed, stopped listening when the season demanded he grow.
Williams Had an Undoubtedly Tumultuous Rookie Campaign
Respectfully, I’m not buying that article.
Caleb Williams is the most criticized and hated quarterback I’ve ever seen.
I truly don’t understand why.
— Dave (@dave_bfr) September 5, 2025
Williams threw 20 touchdowns, only six interceptions and 3,541 yards as a rookie last year. On paper, that’s not bad, particularly considering it ranked 5th on the team’s all-time single-season passing list. But he was also sacked a league-high 68 times and his mechanics were inconsistent, particularly when he was under pressure.
Of course, context matters. Shane Waldron, the coordinator brought in to help Williams during his rookie campaign, never found rhythm and was fired midseason. Head coach Matt Eberflus soon followed. By the time Brown inherited the wreckage, Williams’ trust in the group was likely already fractured beyond repair.
That doesn’t excuse Williams turning his back, but it does explain why a 22-year-old would start treating sideline lectures like background noise. When the adults in the room keep changing, why bother listening?
Dunne’s work leans heavily on anonymous voices, so it’s also fair to argue it’s too easy to paint a young quarterback as entitled when the sourcing is shielded.
Regardless, it seems clear both sides bear some blame. Williams apparently wasn’t ready to be coached the way the NFL demands, but the Bears didn’t give him a steady infrastructure, either.
For lack of a better metaphor, the only question now is whether Ben Johnson can steady the ship and calm Williams before there’s a Titanic-esque wreck.