Former Packers Coach Says The Quiet Part Out Loud About Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams is fast becoming what amounts to the football version of the Baba Yaga for the Green Bay Packers. The Chicago Bears‘ eternal rival expected the young quarterback to follow the same fates as Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky, and Jay Cutler. Talented, sure, but nowhere near good enough to swing the rivalry from the direction it had been going for the past 30 years. Then Williams beat them in Lambeau Field as a rookie in 2024. Okay, no problem. That was a fluke. Green Bay reasserted control in the rematch last season. Everything would be fine.
Then Williams led two of the most epic comebacks in modern Bears history, erasing deficits of 16-3 and 21-3 to stun the Packers twice. Just like that, Williams had won three of his last four games against them. The last quarterback to accomplish that was Rex Grossman two decades ago, and he was mostly aided by a dominant defense and strong running game. Nobody can dispute that Williams was the primary reason Chicago won this time around.
Jeff Hafley, the Packers’ former defensive coordinator and now head coach of the Miami Dolphins, admitted to Nicholas Moreano of Bears Roundtable that Williams is not a fluke. He’s the real deal.
“I just think what Caleb did at the end of the games and his ability to make off-schedule plays was incredible,” Hafley said. “I mean, that’s just me being honest. At the end of games, when he had to make off-schedule plays and somehow pull it off, he did. So, he got better throughout the season. I think he’s a really good quarterback that’s only going to get better.”
Hafley experienced the Caleb Williams magic firsthand.
We must remember the former defensive coordinator had really good plans for the Bears quarterback in every meeting. It was his scheming and play calling that shut down Chicago’s offense early in all of those games. Most quarterbacks would’ve just wilted at the end and just moved on to the next week, taking their L. Not Williams. He seemed to dial in as games entered the 4th quarter, determined not to let the opponent leave without a proper fight. As he drew the score closer, Green Bay would start getting tight.
What made it worse was Williams’ uncanny scrambling ability. He’d constantly force defenders to chase him. This had a stacking effect. By the time games got late, guys were gassed. This led to more busts in coverage, enabling the Bears to hit big plays. The Packers were on their heels and had no answers. Hafley made the same smart calls, but it didn’t matter anymore. Once Williams found a groove, there was almost nothing that stopped him. The final result became inevitable.
Hafley is probably happy to be away from the NFC North.
While becoming an NFL head coach was obviously the primary draw, getting away from having to face Caleb Williams twice a year was an added bonus. It must not have been fun to game-plan against a player like that, especially when he has an offensive wizard like Ben Johnson calling the plays. Plenty of sleepless nights. Packers fans may act like they’re the classier type of people, but in reality, they’re just as nasty and unforgiving as most other fanbases. That becomes especially true after losing to the Bears.
That won’t be a problem anymore in Miami, although now Hafley will have to deal with Josh Allen and Drake Maye. Worth it? Apparently so. The Packers now hope new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon can succeed in snuffing out the Williams threat before it gets too big. They’d better hope so. If Hafley is right and last season was merely the beginning, then their lives are about to get much worse. That is saying a lot after what happened last year.