Bears’ Williams ready to get back to work this offseason

After Sunday’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Bears players on Monday held exit interviews and cleaned out their lockers as they reflected on an unforgettable season.

The Bears entered head coach Ben Johnson’s first season with little expectations around the NFL. The Bears wound up with seven comeback wins and plenty of playoff firsts.

Now players, coaches and management will look toward the offseason to build off an impressive season. Here are four of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On Caleb Williams’ offseason plans

The second-year Bears quarterback Williams took a major step with Johnson as the team’s play caller. He also answered many questions about whether he can be the team’s franchise quarterback.

Chicago won games because of Williams this season. Williams was clutch in late-game situations and led seven fourth-quarter comebacks. He etched his name into the Bears record book, becoming the franchise’s single-season passing leader.

But Williams isn’t a perfect product after two seasons. He wants to improve his footwork and accuracy over the offseason. Williams plans on working with his receivers and dissecting film from this season to find ways, no matter how little, to improve.

“It’s just super small things to be able to be more consistent for the guys, for the team,” Williams said. “Be able to keep the offense on the field as long as possible and be as efficient as possible. That’s something that I want to do for myself and this offense and this team.”

Williams will have the motivation to do it. He and the Bears got a taste of what success in the playoffs is like when they beat the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round and came close to advancing to the NFC championship game.

“You get into these playoff games and you’re winning and you play these good teams and you see what you have to go against,” Williams said. “You see what championship level is, you see what you need to do to be at the position that you want to be at the end of the year. You see what you have to do, you figure it out and when you get knocked down, you get back up. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s my mindset.”

On Johnson’s impact

When the Bears hired Johnson a year ago, many knew they’d brought in one of the best young offensive minds in the NFL. But his ability to be a head coach wasn’t certain.

Johnson quickly erased concerns about his leadership and proved his methods worked in the regular season and playoffs. The Bears accomplished a lot of firsts under Johnson. They returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. They won their first NFC North title since 2018. They won their first playoff game in 15 years against their hated rival.

“Chicago, the Bears, they got the right guy leading this team,” veteran safety Kevin Byard said. “He did a phenomenal job this year. Like I said, I think we all kinda knew when Ben came in as the head coach about his offensive play calling and how good the offense was gonna be. But I think just the accountability, the tone that was set from Day One with the tough training camp that we had. And I think he just did a phenomenal job this year.”

He also did what many expected and elevated the Bears’ offense to one the NFL’s best. Chicago ended the regular season in the top 10 of most major offensive categories.

“He’s been everything that Chicago’s needed as a coach,” Williams said. “We’re happy to have him. I’m happy to have him as my coach and what he’s been able to do for me, it’s been unparalleled. I’m excited about that. I’m excited that we’re going to be together, I’m excited about our future, I’m excited about getting back here with him and growing more than I did this year and be able to have games and moments like this many times in our career.”

On building sustained success

Chicago accomplished the first part of what Johnson hoped to build in Chicago. Now the Bears need to sustain that success for years to come.

Building sustained success in the NFL is tough. The Bears haven’t reached the playoff in back-to-back seasons since 2005 and 2006.

“This is not something that’s very easy to do at all but I have belief in this group in this team, in this organization,” Byard said. “But like I said, I mean, we’re all having these talks like, ‘hey man we’ve got to run this back, we’ve got to run this back’ but there’s no guarantee that it’s going to happen again. So yeah it’s going to definitely be tough to do.”

The Bears believe they have a good group that can do it. Chicago, like every team in the NFL, will have roster turnover in the offseason. There will be new players to learn and buy into the culture the Bears set this season.

But Chicago does have a strong core of young players on both sides of the ball who’ve already bought in.

“I think it’s just going to continue,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “Obviously, you kind of got to reset. Don’t let this season, all the lessons that we have learned this season or the wins in an essence get to our head. Understanding that next season isn’t guaranteed.”

On roster decisions

Bears general manager Ryan Poles will need to make tough roster decisions over the next few months.

Two of the biggest will be a the safety position. Byard and Jaquan Brisker have expiring contracts. Byard had a big comeback season and led the NFL with seven interceptions, which led to his first All-Pro honor since 2021. Brisker had a good season and ended with a strong showing Sunday.

Brisker said he’d like to return to the Bears. Byard echoed similar interest.

“I definitely think there’s mutual interest for me to be back,” Byard said. “But, at the end of the day, I truly don’t have any real control over it. I think with the success that we all had this season as a team, I think a lot of guys on this team are going to be coveted around this league, honestly. And I think the same way the organization is always going to do what’s best for the team, I think I owe that to my family as well, even though, like I said, I think my first option would be to come back here in Chicago and kind of finish what we got started this year.”

Poles also needs to decide which player he’ll offer a contract extension. His biggest target will likely be starting right tackle Darnell Wright, who took a major step in his third season. Wright earned his first Second-Team All-Pro honor.

“I would love to be on the team for my whole career, for sure,” Wright said.