Belief Is Shane Waldron Might Be Exactly What Caleb Williams Needs

The Chicago Bears didn’t know which quarterback they were taking in January, but it sure feels like they might have already had an idea. After a careful search involving nine candidates, the team opted to hire Shane Waldron as their next offensive coordinator. The decision made sense. He already has three years of experience calling plays, most of that resulting in considerable success. His experience working with Sean McVay, Bill Belichick, and Pete Carroll meant he had a good education on how to handle quarterbacks.

This makes him at least qualified to embrace the challenge of developing Caleb Williams. Most experts believe he is the best prospect in this class by a considerable margin and maybe one of the best in the past 20 years. However, nobody is naive enough to think NFL success is guaranteed for him. He needs a good structure around him to realize his full potential. Jordan Reid of ESPN put it best. So much of what he accomplishes in his NFL transition hinges on the capabilities of Waldron.

“His reliance on big plays and his ability to play outside of structure can be a gift — and a curse. His success with those passes outside of structure often leads to him welcoming avoidable pressure, as he passes up options available early in progressions in favor of the bigger play. There are plenty of times on tape when Williams could have gotten the ball out quicker, but because he knows he can put on his Superman cape, he instead holds onto it longer than necessary.

The key to Williams’ success at the next level? Being paired with a playcaller who embraces the chaos but also understands how to settle his game and stress the importance of not getting bored with the easy throws that are there for the taking.”

Shane Waldron has critical experience dealing with someone like Williams.

This comes from the year he spent coaching Russell Wilson in Seattle. Many have compared Williams’ style of play to Wilson’s with his ability to buy time with his legs and make some amazing plays out of structure. He and Waldron only spent 14 games together, but it was a productive stretch. Wilson threw for 3,113 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. What stood out the most was how the offense catered to the quarterback’s improvisation while also managing to get his usually-high time-to-throw down to more average levels.

This means Shane Waldron already has the blueprint. If Williams is open to evolving his game, there is no reason to think he can’t make the same adjustments as Wilson did. The Bears have provided the necessary tools. They have a solid offensive line, two outstanding wide receivers in D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen, and a solid rotation of running backs. Unlike during his last year at USC, Williams won’t have to be the hero. He can lean on his talented teammates to do most of the work for him.