Seated in the back of the Chicago Bears’ suite, chairman George McCaskey watched general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and other staff members interview quarterback Caleb Williams at the NFL Scouting Combine.
It was 10:40 p.m.
“That’s a little past my bedtime,” McCaskey quipped.
Williams wasn’t tired, though.
“He was remarkably gregarious, engaged and friendly,” McCaskey said Tuesday during the NFL owners’ meetings. “When they got down to football, he was right in it.”
McCaskey has been here before — literally and figuratively. The Bears’ interview with Williams wasn’t the first he has sat through at the combine. He’s been a part of plenty, including this year with other quarterbacks and players.
“Back of the room, keep my mouth shut, eyes and ears open,” McCaskey said.
But there is more significance to Williams’ interview. The Bears are drafting a quarterback in the first round again. There is no shying away from that reality.
Poles will draft his first quarterback as Bears GM, but for McCaskey, this selection is different. This quarterback — likely Williams — will be the third one taken in the first round since he took over as Bears chairman in 2011.
McCaskey has experienced the excitement of the selections of Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields but also the disappointment of their departures. Poles, Eberflus and president Kevin Warren can’t say the same.
Is McCaskey ready for all of this again?
“That’s up to Ryan and his staff and Matt and his staff,” McCaskey said. “I think the important thing is, whoever it is, whatever position it is, at (Nos.) 1 and 9 or whatever it winds up being, to have the support in place. We’ve got good people in player engagement, in training staff, equipment staff, everybody to maximize the chances of success.”
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