A Kliff Kingsbury–Caleb Williams Reunion Is Back In Play — And Why It Would Benefit The Bears
The Chicago Bears are hunting for a new offensive coordinator after Declan Doyle left for Baltimore. It was unexpected, but that is the NFL. Teams must be prepared for twists and turns. Head coach Ben Johnson is already in the process of finding the next guy. One name has already surfaced in the form of 30-year-old Connor Senger, formerly Arizona’s passing game coordinator. He’s earned rave reviews in the past year, both for that job and the work he’s done at the East-West Shrine Bowl. It turns out another former Cardinals coach might be on the table. That is Kliff Kingsbury.
In a surprise move, the Washington Commanders parted ways with their offensive coordinator one year after he pushed Jayden Daniels to Rookie of the Year and an NFC Championship appearance. Now he is looking for his next job, and hasn’t gotten a bite yet. Top film analyst Ted Nguyen believes a reunion with Caleb Williams in Chicago would be great not just for Kingsbury, but the Bears as well.
Kliff Kingsbury checks boxes that Johnson looks for.
One of the primary reasons he hired Doyle last year was Doyle’s reputation as an innovative thinker. He was a big help to Sean Payton in crafting new plays to bring wrinkles to the playbook. Johnson wanted somebody like that for his offensive coordinator. For all of his mixed reputation, nobody has ever disputed Kingsbury’s creativity. He routinely comes up with some nasty play designs to get his players open. Chicago even stole one of them to secure the winning touchdown against Green Bay in the wild card round.
Another misnomer about Kliff Kingsbury is he’s pass-happy. That came from his time at Texas Tech when Patrick Mahomes was his quarterback. In truth, Kingsbury has a strong reputation for running the football. In his six years as a head coach and offensive coordinator, his teams have finished in the top 10 for rushing five times.
| Year | Rushing ranking |
| 2019 | 10th |
| 2020 | 7th |
| 2021 | 10th |
| 2022 | 22nd |
| 2024 | 3rd |
| 2025 | 4th |
Coach Johnson loves to run the football. It only makes sense he’d love bringing in somebody who has a knack for that. The only question is whether Kingsbury would be on board with not calling plays. He’s never held the offensive coordinator role without doing so. Then again, he didn’t seem to mind it in 2023 when he was a passing game coach for USC while working with Williams. Joining the Bears would keep him in the spotlight alongside one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks.
It probably wouldn’t take long for him to get a big opportunity elsewhere. In return, Chicago gets to pick his brain for scheme concepts they can use to make their offense even more diverse and dangerous.