Why the Chicago Bears have reason to believe this reboot at quarterback will be different

ORLANDO, Fla. — Seated in the back of the Chicago Bears’ suite, chairman George McCaskey watched general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and other staff members interview quarterback Caleb Williams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

It was 10:40 p.m.

“That’s a little past my bedtime,” McCaskey quipped.

Williams wasn’t tired, though.

“He was remarkably gregarious, engaged and friendly,” McCaskey said Tuesday during the NFL owners’ meetings. “When they got down to football, he was right in it.”

McCaskey has been here before — literally and figuratively. The Bears’ interview with Williams wasn’t the first he has sat through at the combine. He’s been a part of plenty, including this year with other quarterbacks and players.

“Back of the room, keep my mouth shut, eyes and ears open,” McCaskey said.

But there is more significance to Williams’ interview. The Bears are drafting a quarterback in the first round again. There is no shying away from that reality.

Poles will draft his first quarterback as Bears GM, but for McCaskey, this selection is different. This quarterback — likely Williams — will be the third one taken in the first round since he took over as Bears chairman in 2011.

McCaskey has experienced the excitement of the selections of Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields but also the disappointment of their departures. Poles, Eberflus and president Kevin Warren can’t say the same.

Is McCaskey ready for all of this again?

“That’s up to Ryan and his staff and Matt and his staff,” McCaskey said. “I think the important thing is, whoever it is, whatever position it is, at (Nos.) 1 and 9 or whatever it winds up being, to have the support in place. We’ve got good people in player engagement, in training staff, equipment staff, everybody to maximize the chances of success.”

The fear, of course, is that the Bears take Williams and the team struggles with a rookie starter. The momentum that Eberflus’ defense appears to have from last season can’t carry the team throughout the 2024 season.

And then Eberflus and/or Poles gets fired, leaving Williams in limbo essentially with new decision-makers around him.

It’s what the Bears do. Former coach John Fox was fired after Trubisky’s rookie year. Former general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy were dismissed after Fields’ first season, though they traded up for him.

And yet, the vibe around the Bears feels different now. All of it. The organization has changed. It doesn’t have the same awkward feel and predicament between GM and coach that it had in 2017 before Trubisky was selected. It doesn’t have the same pressure and scrutiny that existed for Nagy and Pace in 2021.

Instead, Poles and Eberflus left the owners’ meetings together. They boarded a private jet early Wednesday bound for Louisiana. Their evaluation of the rookie quarterback class continued at LSU’s pro day with not only Jayden Daniels but also receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. They’re doing this together. All of it.

Poles might have articulated it the best on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.

“We were hired to break a cycle,” he said.

You heard what he said 😂😂

“We were hired to break a cycle and I really believe that we’re about to do that..

We’re gonna get the city of Chicago in a really good situation” ~ Ryan Poles #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wSJb0X0Vzn

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2024

McCaskey must be a part of that, too. He accepted the teardown that was the 2022 season for the Bears but also everything that happened after it. Building the Bears the right way would take time and some good fortune. The latter has surely happened with the Bears getting the first pick again. But it’s on McCaskey and Warren to supply the time needed.

“Success in the NFL is all about a culmination of really good decisions,” Warren said, referencing his weekly standing meetings with Poles.

“But I always look at (Poles) and ask him, ‘Do you have everything you need for us to be a champion?’ And as long as he continues to say yes, then we’re moving in the right direction.”

Poles’ first decision was to keep Eberflus. His seat was never as hot as some made it seem last season. Instead, Poles saw a coach he believed in from day one present a united front during some early turmoil and finish with five wins in the final eight games with one of the league’s best defenses. Poles’ belief and faith in Eberflus only grew.

“Ryan has expressed his confidence in Matt,” McCaskey said. “They’ve worked very well together. We’ve had some tough seasons and we’re looking for better days ahead.”

The Bears will need a quarterback for that to happen. They believe they’ve improved their infrastructure for their rookie with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and offensive assistant Ryan Griffin.

Saying goodbye to Fields wasn’t easy for McCaskey, though.

“First of all, I want to thank Justin for all he did for the Bears, both on and off the field,” McCaskey said. “And all he did for Bears fans. He made some spectacular plays that people are still talking about. He understood what it meant to be the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears. He gave his time and his energy. I saw countless times after practice where he was talking to kids, spending time with kids.

“I remember one time in the (Walter) Payton Center, he walked over to a kid wearing a No. 1 jersey and he said, ‘Hey, I like your jersey.’ And you could see the kid light up. He did a great job for us. Gave everything he had to the Bears, to the city. And we’re very grateful.”

But McCaskey knows what’s next. He’s been here before. The hope and excitement of selecting a quarterback in the first round of the draft — this time No. 1 — will return soon. The buzz is already there. McCaskey can’t ignore it.

The Bears could be back soon enough.

Finally.

“Ryan and his staff and Matt and his staff have done a great job,” McCaskey said. “They’ve been grinding. They’ve been in the bunker, working hard. Working together very well, both staffs. That’s very important. April 25 (is) very important for the future of the Bears.”

(Photo of Caleb Williams: Jason Parkhurst / USA Today)