The Chicago Bears have a notorious reputation for hindering the careers of quarterbacks, which puts their future heavily at stake.

With Caleb Williams struggling considerably in his rookie year, there are valid concerns that he might follow the same disappointing path that led Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky to fail. This pattern is common among various promising young quarterbacks who have played for the Bears.

Over the past two decades, Chicago has selected four quarterbacks they deemed “franchise” players, yet none have succeeded. (And let’s be real, Rex Grossman’s Super Bowl appearance wasn’t due to his skill.) Eventually, the issue shifts from the quarterbacks themselves to the organization that supports them.

In Williams’ case, the problem lies with the entire Bears organization.

Unlike previous draft mistakes such as Trubisky and somewhat Grossman, the Bears didn’t err in selecting Williams. He possesses the talent, intelligence, emotional maturity, and charisma needed to lead a franchise—much like Fields did as well.

However, Williams lacks the crucial support system that is essential for achieving success, which is entirely the Bears’ fault.

Although he has more offensive weapons than Fields ever had—counting D’Andre Swift, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet—he is stuck behind a subpar offensive line. This could either lead to him suffering injuries or developing poor gameplay habits.

Currently, he is facing serious challenges. Williams has been sacked a staggering 38 times this season, the highest in the NFL, including nine times during a recent game. While he admits he sometimes holds onto the ball too long, the Bears also fail to recognize that a franchise quarterback is ineffective if they are constantly under pressure.

Similar to the situations with Trubisky and Fields, the Bears are not providing any support for Williams regarding coaching.

Every rookie quarterback, regardless of their talent, faces a learning curve and requires experienced guidance. Ideally, this would come from a head coach skilled in offense or a reputable offensive coordinator.

Instead, the Bears have kept head coach Matt Eberflus, who has a defensive coaching background and has managed a poor record of 10-24 over two seasons. They also overlooked Kliff Kingsbury, who not only coached Williams at USC but also worked with Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, opting instead for Shane Waldron, who they just recently fired.

Now, Kingsbury is with the Washington Commanders, where Jayden Daniels is making a strong case for possibly deserving the No. 1 pick. As the Commanders shine, the Bears find themselves engulfed in turmoil.

Unlike other teams that have drafted quarterbacks in the first round, the Bears didn’t even provide Williams with an experienced veteran quarterback to guide him. Fans may remember that Chicago GM Ryan Poles cut Brett Rypien before the season started, choosing to keep two younger quarterbacks instead.

“He’s where he is right now,” Eberflus stated about Williams. “We’re 4-5 and have lost three games in a row. It’s important to get us on the right path.”

However, any further adjustments made by Eberflus and the Bears are merely superficial changes. Despite Eberflus’ attempts to find positives, there are few bright spots in this 4-5 season.

Chicago’s wins have primarily come against the weakest teams, which Chicago is expected to defeat, while their fourth victory was at home against a Los Angeles Rams team that was missing key players.

Additionally, Chicago has not scored an offensive touchdown in the last two games, and Williams hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in his last three matches. His accuracy is declining, completing less than 54% of his passes in recent games, with only the Indianapolis Colts performing worse in terms of completion rate.

This situation is especially concerning since the Bears have yet to face any of their divisional rivals, all of whom have demonstrated strong quarterback strategies. Jared Goff is now an MVP candidate after the Lions traded for him, while Sam Darnold is performing better now that he’s left the Jets and Panthers behind.

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers have transitioned effortlessly through quarterbacks from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, and when Love was sidelined, Malik Willis stepped in and played exceptionally well.

The Bears are likely to win only one or two more games this season, which will likely lead to Eberflus and his staff being dismissed. Consequently, Williams will find himself starting anew with a new head coach, offensive coordinator, and offensive system, effectively wasting a crucial year in his development.

Such an approach is not conducive to success in the NFL; nevertheless, the Bears repeatedly choose to follow this same path, leading to expected outcomes.

(This column has been updated to include new information.)