Bears coach Matt Eberflus said he will take over Alan Williams’ play-calling role “and the defensive staff is gonna still be intact where they are” following Williams’ sudden resignation as the Bears’ defensive coordinator.
Speaking for the first time since Williams resigned on Wednesday, Eberflus stuck to the same script as the rest of the organization — acknowledging his departure but offering little if any sentiment of well-wishes for a former colleague who has left the team for what Williams said was health and family issues.
“Obviously, I was with him for four years, five years [including] here,” Eberflus said. “I have a lot of friendship. I have feelings for him. But it’s … he’s resigned and, you know, it’s for health and family and we’ll see where it goes from there. I have feelings for Alan Williams, of course.”
The Bears on Wednesday released only a terse statement regarding Williams departure — “Alan Williams submitted his resignation as the team’s defensive coordinator this afternoon.” — that notably and oddly lacked well-wishes for his health and appreciation for his contributions to the organization that usually would be expressed in regard to a member of the organization in a situation like this.
“I wouldn’t read into that,” Eberflus said. “It’s personal. So people are respecting that and respecting space, I believe. That’s what I believe it is. It’s no disrespect to the question. It’s none of that. That’s where it is.”
Told that the Bears could respect Williams’ space and privacy and still offer well-wishes and appreciation for Williams’ contribution to the organization — and asked why that’s not a red flag, Eberflus stuck to the company line.
“Everybody’s respecting space there and it’s personal. That’s where it is,” Eberflus said. “It’s personal and that’s where it is, respecting him.”
Asked how Williams resignation affected him on a personal level, Eberflus indicated that he has been in contact with Williams at some point following the resignation.
“We’re all coaches and coaching families are, you move here and you move there, you gotta be a tight group,” Eberflus said. “So we just reached out for support and that’s where it is. It’s personal and we left it at that. We just said, ‘if you need anything, we can help you. Let us know.’”
The Williams saga was part of a particularly tumultuous week at Halas Hall. Also on Wednesday, quarterback Justin Fields publicly expressed frustration with his playing style — saying he was robotic, feeling too confined to the pocket and indicating he was being over-coached.
The two stories were enough of a distraction that general manager Ryan Poles held a press conference on Thursday to address both issues.
Also, the Bears are 0-2 after a pair of disappointing losses to the Packers and Buccaneers, starting left tackle Braxton Jones was put on injured reserve, and the Bears play the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Eberflus, a first-time NFL head coach, was confident the commotion would not affect the team.
“I told them every day after practice, ‘Lean in and lean on each other,’” Eberflus said. “We’ve been spending time building relationships with each other and that locker room is tight. You can see it in the way they practice, and we’re just going to keep pounding the rock. That to me is really good — how they practiced today and the energy they had out there tells me everything about the bond they have and the relationships they have as partners, as teammates in the locker room.”
