After Shane Waldron was fired on Tuesday, Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000 released an interesting bit of inside information. First, several players in the locker room approached GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus about making a change at offensive coordinator. That wasn’t a surprise. There’d been rumblings for weeks that guys were frustrated with Waldron. However, the much bigger bombshell is that a couple of veterans asked if they would consider benching Caleb Williams in favor of Tyson Bagent.
That came out of left field. Yes, the last three weeks haven’t gone well for Williams. He has looked skittish, uncertain, and overwhelmed. Even so, to call for his benching after how well he played in October feels like a massive overreaction. Well, it appears Silvy may have slipped up. A person on Reddit noted that the source of this rumor was Bagent’s father, Travis Bagent. This sort of rumor happened last year when Justin Fields was struggling, too. Now, it just so happens to pop up again.
Remember that Cole Kmet vehemently denied that anybody in the locker room asked for Williams to be benched. The Bears tight end isn’t known for lying. Brad Biggs, one of the top team insiders, also said it wasn’t true, lending this theory further credence.
Caleb Williams getting sabotaged by the father of Tyson Bagent sounds crazy.
That is, until you see the man in person. Travis Bagent is a world arm wrestling champion. He is also a boisterous personality. The guy is a talker in every sense of the word. He is also a massive proponent of his son’s success. Somebody as competitive and self-confident as him would be more than willing to drop some leaks to the press about the Bears locker room getting fed up with Williams. If it ends up getting his son another shot at stealing the starting job or impressing other NFL teams, that’s great.
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Is it underhanded? Absolutely. Caleb Williams doesn’t deserve that sort of treatment. However, the NFL is a cutthroat business. Such tactics are hardly uncommon. Some guys will do almost anything to get ahead. All we can say is at least head coach Matt Eberflus had enough common sense not to give that rumor any legs. He immediately shot it down by saying Williams is the starter. Nothing else was ever considered. One thing is certain. If this is true, Tyson Bagent better get his dad under control. Otherwise, he’ll be out of a job.
*********************************UPDATE************************************
Benjamin Allbright, one of the most accurate insiders on a national level, provided confirmation that the rumor is indeed real. He has been hearing a lot of the same things.
This being true means the Bears have to do something about Travis Bagent. He is actively trying to sabotage their young quarterback with baseless lies to the media. If that requires cutting his son, so be it. Tyson is a fine young man and solid backup, but his presence isn’t worth it if this continues.
@TGena….well said
I hope our new OC has a couple OLmen put their weight on GB’s safety at the end of each play.
I wouldn’t want to be the team that drafted Shaduer Sanders. No TY.
@Dr. Melhus — I have never seen any report to indicate that Ryan Poles personally met with any college QB, other than Caleb Williams, during the process. [Caleb had been considered the #1 or #2 college player in 2023 and 2024 NFL draft classes — but Jayden Daniels was “downgraded” based solely on his physical stature.] But, as I have said in the past: that is totally up to the GM (to meet with, and untimately select the player he prefers). However, to equate Poles’ efforts with the practice viewed as due diligence is quite a stretch. I wonder how… Read more »
Or, this rumor could come from the Bears front office to throw a smokescreen around their issues.
Or, it could have started with another team, funneled through the Chicago media, or a person connected in some way to the Bears.
Or, it could be something that a podcaster “heard” from “someone, somewhere, somehow.”
Or, it might just be more BULL.