Most pundits and Chicago Bears fans speculated a fact-finding mission on Caleb Williams was the main reason the Chicago Bears flew to Los Angeles last month to interview Kliff Kingsbury for their then-vacant offensive coordinator position.
That might not have been the whole story.
The Chicago Bears interviewed Kliff Kingsbury
Kingsbury, a former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, spent last season as Williams’ quarterbacks coach at USC. It was only logical for people to suspect general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus would inquire about Williams. But they might have been finding an offensive coordinator to dump Justin Fields onto for next season.
The Bears opted to give Shane Waldron the offensive coordinator gig for the 2024 season. On Thursday night, the Las Vegas Raiders announced they were hiring Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator. Per the ESPN article on Kingsbury’s hiring,the Raiders are expected to add a quarterback for Kingsbury:
“The Raiders, who are likely to move on from veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, are also in line to add a quarterback to join rookie Aidan O’Connell, be it in free agency, trade or the draft. But in order to grab one of the top prospects, Las Vegas would have to move up from their current slot at No. 13″
Does Kingsbury want to deal with a Justin Fields project?
This news should be of significance to Bears fans. The Raiders have been suggested as one of the top teams interested in trading for Fields. Last week, the Raiders made another curious move connected to Fields when they interviewed former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy for their offensive coordinator gig.
Were the Raiders trying to grab intel from Getsy about Fields?
As previously discussed on CCS, Eberflus made sure to praise Fields’ skillset during his interviews with offensive coordinator candidates.
According to Breer, potential Bears offensive coordinators were interested in coaching Caleb Williams, the expected top-quarterback prospect in the 2024 draft. Eberflus defended Justin Fields during his interviews with prospective candidates:
“Of course, the chance, potentially, to coach USC’s Caleb Williams was something mentioned to me as a drawing card by candidates for the job (though Eberflus did defend Justin Fields in the interviews, as I understand it).”
The Raiders have inside intel on Fields now
Going to Los Angeles to praise Fields during an interview with Kingsbury would be beneficial for trade talks with the Raiders in March. While the Bears might have received some intel on Williams from Kingsbury, the Bears have given the Raiders a scoop on Fields.
Fields’ skillset is somewhat close to Kyler Murray, the quarterback Kingsbury groomed with the Cardinals. Kingsbury’s hire by the Raiders could signal to Poles they are ready to deal for Fields this offseason.
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REPORT: Caleb Williams’ camp sends stern request to Chicago Bears if they plan to draft him
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