Bears’ OC Candidates to Be Asked About Developing Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Fields

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 11, 2024

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

The Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on Wednesday, and the plan is to ask any coordinator candidates how they would approach developing either Justin Fields or a rookie the team potentially drafts at No. 1 overall like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.

”I love it,” general manager Ryan Poles told reporters. “What are you going to do for these… different types of quarterbacks? I want to hear that. And it’s really important to see the versatility and the adaptability in their teaching and the way they implement a plan, scheme, adjust. I think it actually makes it pretty dynamic in terms of the interview process.”

For the time being, however, Fields is the frontrunner to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2024. The Bears chose to keep the young quarterback last offseason, trading away the top overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a bounty, with Poles’ saying at the time he’d need to be “blown away” by a quarterback prospect to part ways with Fields.

He appears to be taking the same approach this time around.

“Not to use the same quote, but when I say, ‘I need to be blown away,’ it’s the same setup because seeing the things that Justin did this year, his ability to make plays… keeping his eyes down the field, taking less sacks, you see a lot of growth there where he can continue to get better,” Poles told reporters. “So, I’ll have the same mindset.”

Granted, that could simply be Poles trying to keep leverage in any trade talk for Fields. You don’t trash a guy you are trying to get maximum return for in a deal. And either way, the Bears are going to do their due diligence on players like Williams and Maye:

Albert Breer @AlbertBreerBears GM Ryan Poles tells reporters the team is in “information-gathering mode” at QB. “Justin [Fields] got better, he can lead this team. At the same time, there’s a unique situation, and we have to look at everything.”

Chicago, of course, holds the No. 1 overall pick.

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCroninRyan Poles reiterates that he’s going to consider all options with the No. 1 overall pick (trading it or using it). As far as a timeline for a decision, “in my mind right now, I’m going to take this all the way to April.”

The Bears are certainly in a far better place than the Panthers, who used the top overall pick to select Bryce Young. He struggled mightily in his rookie year while the Bears kept Fields, landed star wideout D.J. Moore in the trade and a pair of both first- and second-round picks, one of which became the top overall pick in this year’s draft.

Now, if the Panthers had selected likely Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud instead, that trade wouldn’t seem so imbalanced in favor of Chicago. But Chicago’s decision this year is even tougher, in large part because Williams in particular is a better quarterback prospect than any of the players in last year’s class.

Certainly, incoming coordinator candidates will have to offer very different plans for either Fields, Williams or Maye. Unlocking Fields means giving him chances to run with the ball and getting him in space, while Williams and Maye are more traditional pocket passers.

The concern with Fields is that he will never develop enough as a passer to be the sort of quarterback who can lead a title contender. He took strides in 2023, setting career highs in passing yards (2,562) and completion percentage (61.4 percent) across 13 games while having the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (16-to-9) of his career.

But that’s where Williams and Maye appear to have more upside. Fields tips the scale back in his direction somewhat with his dynamic ability as a runner, leaving Chicago with a tough decision on their hands and incoming offensive coordinators some interesting hypotheticals to discuss in interviews.