Sure sounds like Shane Waldron's sabotage of Caleb Williams was even worse than we thought

The 2024 season was supposed to signal the start of a new and exciting era of Chicago Bears football. The team drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, giving them the franchise quarterback they've really never had. Williams was as generational of a prospect as NFL fans had seen in recent memory.

The Bears paired Williams with a very good receiver trio, a solid defense and former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Bears, on paper, looked like a team that should at the very least compete for a playoff spot. As their 5-12 record showed, though, that wasn't the case — and their lackluster offense was the biggest reason why.

Thanks to the team's struggles on the offensive side of the ball, the Bears fired Waldron just nine games into his Chicago tenure. This was a move Bears fans were all thrilled with, and the players even seemed to be on board. Sure, the offensive line was bad, but with the talent the Bears had on offense, that unit should not have been as bad as it was.

Given his inability to get much of anything out of this Bears offense, Bears fans weren't beleivers in Waldron, and it's tough to blame them for having that mindset. As it turns out, Waldron might have been worse at his job than Bears fans thought, which is hard to fathom.

Shane Waldron sabotaged Caleb Williams more than Bears fans could have expected

Taylor Doll of the 2nd City Gridiron podcast revealed that Waldron was not studying film with Williams to the point where the rookie had to build his own film room to review game tape. That's right, a rookie had to seek outside resources and build his own film room just to get the help his offensive coordinator was supposed to provide. Given that, it isn't hard to see why the Bears were quick to move on from Waldron.

This report has to be encouraging for Bears fans for a couple of reasons. First, even while getting virtually no help from his offensive coordinator, Williams had a fine rookie year. He didn't light the world on fire, but he did a good job protecting the ball (only six interceptions) and showed flashes of brilliance as well.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Williams showed the desire to improve and go to the lengths he felt were necessary to get the help he felt he needed since Waldron was doing nothing. A player as talented and as motivated as Williams is can wind up being the elite quarterback Bears fans have been waiting for as long as he has the right coaching around him.

With that in mind, Williams must be elated like his teammates are knowing that Ben Johnson will be calling plays and reviewing film with him for the years to come. With Waldron out of sight, a massive jump from Williams in his sophomore season would be far from shocking.