Neither Bill Belichick nor Sean Payton, two of the NFL’s most respected head coaches, was particularly enamored with Caleb Williams’ film coming out of college — not that either had a legitimate chance of drafting the USC star in 2024.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur, however, was wowed by Williams as far back as high school, when he turned to a counselor at a passing camp and asked, “Who the [heck] is that?”
The differences in opinion about Williams are documented in Seth Wickersham’s “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,” which will be released Sept. 9, one day after the Bears’ season opener against the Vikings.
The book explores not only the history of the position but its place in American culture. It describes how the Williams family debated trying to force him toward the Vikings — and away from the Bears, whom his father, Carl, didn’t trust to develop his son — before the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I don’t want my son playing for the Bears,” Carl Williams said, according to the book.
Carl Williams looked for loopholes, considering a challenge to the collective-bargaining agreement — which he told Wickersham was the “worst piece of [excrement] I’ve ever read” — or pushing Williams to the United Football League for a season. He told agents that the Dolphins, Raiders, Rams and Jets were trying to trade for his son before the draft, only for those teams to deny they’d ever talked about such a thing.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles told Williams they’d draft him No. 1 overall regardless, and he eventually accepted a world in which he would wear the wishbone C.
One main reason for Williams’ trepidation: He didn’t believe in offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was hired two months before they met as part of the lead-up to USC’s pro day. Carl Williams wanted the Bears to hire an innovator and didn’t think Waldron qualified.
“I don’t think I can do it with Waldron,” Caleb Williams said.
Waldron was fired midway through his only season with Williams. He is far more excited about his new play-caller, coach Ben Johnson. Williams had a solid day at practice Thursday in an offseason that hasn’t seen enough of them, capped by a two-minute drill in which his completion to Rome Odunze and subsequent spike with one second left put the Bears in field-goal position. Williams will face a tougher challenge in the joint practice Friday against the Bills and the preseason game Sunday night at Soldier Field.
The Bears’ decision to draft Williams No. 1 overall was praised by most around the league as the prudent, correct choice. But Payton and Belichick saw flaws in his game.
Belichick was not particularly impressed, according to the book, thinking Williams was too quick to leave the pocket and too slow to see receivers get open.
Payton saw something similar. Despite seeing “all the elements of a prodigy, including the vibe of being a legend in his own mind,” Wickersham wrote, Payton noted that Williams overlooked too many easy completions at USC. Payton likes to track negative plays, and Williams had too many sacks, fumbles and interceptions.
Belichick, of course, wasn’t in charge of a team, having left the Patriots three months before Williams was drafted. Payton’s Broncos were drafting 12th and likely couldn’t move up to No. 1 in the draft even if the Bears wanted to trade Williams. They drafted Bo Nix, who set the NCAA’s season completion-percentage record. His passer rating as a rookie was about five points better than Williams’.
Payton’s worries went beyond completion percentage.
“His primary concerns with Williams are existential,” Wickersham wrote. “Williams has yet to be broken in his life.”
His 2024 season with the Bears might argue otherwise.
