No franchise has the capability to derail a quarterback’s career quite like the Chicago Bears.

With Caleb Williams’ rookie season currently unfolding poorly, there is justified concern that he may follow in the footsteps of other first-round QBs like Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky, along with many other young talents that the Bears have mishandled over the years.

In the last two decades, the Bears have chosen four supposed “franchise” quarterbacks, and each one has ultimately failed. (No, Rex Grossman supporters, that Super Bowl run was more in spite of him than because of him.) At this point, the issue seems to extend beyond the individual quarterback’s abilities and points towards the shortcomings of the organization as a whole.

This situation reflects poorly on the entire Bears franchise.

It’s not an issue of Chicago selecting the wrong player, as was the case with Trubisky and, to a lesser extent, Grossman. Williams possesses the talent, intelligence, maturity, and charisma to be a foundational player for a team. Fields had the potential as well.

However, what Williams lacks is a solid support system for success, which falls entirely on the Bears.

While he does have more offensive options than Fields ever had, including talents like D’Andre Swift, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet to exploit defenses, he’s burdened with a mediocre offensive line. This scenario could either lead to his injury or force him into developing detrimental habits.

Currently, the situation appears dire for Williams. He has been sacked an astonishing 38 times—more than any other quarterback in the league, including nine in one game recently. Some of this can be attributed to Williams, who admits he sometimes holds onto the ball for too long. However, the Bears equally share the blame, failing to recognize that a franchise QB cannot thrive if he’s constantly on the run or under pressure.

Like with Trubisky and Fields, the Bears are not providing Williams the support he needs in a coaching staff.

Every rookie QB, regardless of their talent level, faces a learning curve that necessitates effective coaching. The ideal support would ideally come from a head coach with an offensive background or a highly regarded offensive coordinator.

The Bears, in what seems to be a poor decision, did not offer either option.

They retained head coach Matt Eberflus, who hails from a defensive background and has recorded a 10-24 record in his initial two years. Furthermore, they chose not to hire Kliff Kingsbury—who coached Williams during his time at USC and also had success coaching Patrick Mahomes in college—in favor of Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator.

Now, Kingsbury is with the Washington Commanders, where Jayden Daniels is showing he could have been the first overall pick. The Commanders are currently a surprise team in the NFL, while Williams and the Bears are caught in a disastrous mess.

Unlike other teams that have drafted first-round quarterbacks, the Bears didn’t even provide Williams with a seasoned backup to mentor him. For those who saw “Hard Knocks,” it was notable when Chicago GM Ryan Poles decided to cut Brett Rypien at the end of training camp, choosing to keep two other inexperienced QBs.

“He’s where he is right now,” Eberflus commented about Williams on Monday. “We’re 4-5 and we’ve lost three in a row. Again, it’s about getting us on the right track.”

Yet, any changes that Eberflus and the Bears implement—such as the inevitable departure of Waldron this week—will only serve as superficial alterations. The underlying problem doesn’t lie with Williams or the offensive strategy, and contrary to Eberflus’s attempt to downplay it, there are very few positives to emerge from this 4-5 season.

Three of Chicago’s four victories were against teams that are typically at the bottom of the league—teams the Bears should have beat—and the fourth was at home against the Los Angeles Rams, who were missing key players including Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and starting linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom.

The Bears have not scored offensively in their last two games, and Williams has not thrown a touchdown in his last three outings. His accuracy is slipping, with less than 54% of his passes completed in each of those games, leaving only the Indianapolis Colts with a worse completion rate than Chicago.

This all happens before the Bears face any divisional rivals in the NFC North—each of whom is performing better at quarterback development than Chicago. Jared Goff has emerged as an MVP candidate since his trade to the Detroit Lions almost four years ago, while Minnesota’s Sam Darnold has revealed that his struggles were more about the teams he played for than his own abilities.

As for the Chicago’s arch-rival Green Bay, they have successfully transitioned from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers, and now to Jordan Love. This year, when Love had to sit for a few games, offensive coach Matt LaFleur was able to make Malik Willis look like a future star.

The Bears might be fortunate to secure one or two wins in the remaining season, after which Eberflus and his staff will likely be dismissed, forcing Williams to start fresh with a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator, and a new playbook. This season would end up being a wasted opportunity, with crucial time in Williams’ growth thrown away.

This approach is not conducive to success in the NFL. Yet the Bears continue to repeat it, with expected and disappointing outcomes.