Hosts at rival Chicago sports talk radio stations have a very different sense of what’s going on at Halas Hall.
Earlier this week, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron midway through his first year on the job, as Caleb Williams and the offense have been anemic in recent weeks, especially in a loss this past Sunday to the Patriots.
On Tuesday, Marc Silverman, the longtime host of ESPN 1000 afternoon drive program “Waddle & Silvy,” took things a step further with an explosive report.
“After talking to a few people with knowledge of the situation, players went to Matt Eberflus & Ryan Poles asking them to make a change at offensive coordinator. There have also been a few veteran players requesting [backup QB Tyson] Bagent starts,” Silverman wrote on X.
Williams was the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of USC and came into the season with enormous expectations.
However, he was sacked nine times against the Patriots, and while he was playing behind a patchwork offensive line missing several starters, there were a number of times that he held onto the ball too long.
And even with a two-score deficit late in the game, he played like he was afraid of committing a turnover.
By his final sack, he was getting helped up by his opponent, Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings.
It is a telltale sign that an offensive line is fed up with a quarterback when they do not help him up.
Nevertheless, Shane Riordan, a producer in afternoon drive on 670 the Score, refuted Silverman’s report.
“FWIW, I’ve been told by multiple people close to the situation that there were NOT any players asking for Tyson Bagent to start over Caleb Williams,” Riordan wrote Thursday on X.
Veteran Bears tight end Cole Kmet also denied the report.
“That didn’t happen,” he told reporters.
ESPN 1000, where Silverman is a host, is the flagship radio station of the Bears.
One would imagine Silverman, who has a reputation for having reliable information, would have been certain of his sourcing before publishing a report like that.