Former All-Pro Says Bears Fans Should Be Thrilled Caleb Williams Is A Crier

People have opinions about the Chicago Bears’ idea to draft Caleb Williams with the #1 overall pick. Talent-wise, the kid had plenty of tools. He’s mobile with a strong arm and can throw with some of the best accuracy in the class. His ability to improvise on the fly is unmatched as well. The only concerns on that front are his tendency to hold the ball sometimes and being on the shorter side at 6’1. As for the mental side, that is where everybody seems more divided. Some experts see a relentless competitor and good teammates. Others see a diva who is way too self-entitled and is also a proven crybaby.

This stems from one incident last season when USC played Utah. It was an important game for the Trojans. A loss would knock them out of the national championship chase after a frustrating loss to Notre Dame the previous week. Williams played well, guiding the offense to 32 points, including a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately, the defense gave up 34. Utah won, ending the championship dreams. Cameras then caught Williams going into the stands to find his mother, where he started crying.

A lot of people were disgusted by the moment.

How can this guy, a football player, go crying to his mother after a loss? It was proof the kid wasn’t mentally tough enough for this game. One person who doesn’t want to hear such criticism. Gerald McCoy is a former All-Pro defensive tackle. He was asked by NBC Sports Chicago about this idea Williams is weak for crying like that. If anything, in his mind, that proves to McCoy that the guy is exactly who you want as your leader.

“People question why he’s crying after games. People who question Caleb Williams crying after games or an athlete crying after games have never worked extremely hard for anything,” McCoy, now an analyst for NFL Network, told NBC Sports Chicago at Radio Row for Super Bowl 58. “You have no idea the hours as athletes that we put in. Everybody handles stuff differently. He’s showing passion. You mean to tell me you’re questioning his toughness or what he is because he chooses to deal with loss by going to talk to his mom?! Because he’s going to cry?! You know how many people cry to their moms behind closed doors? They just don’t do it on camera. He’s Caleb Williams. He’s always on camera. There’s a lot of athletes that you guys will be surprised to do a lot of crying in the locker room.

“So don’t question his toughness because he’s crying after losing. We put a lot into this sport, a lot more than just our bodies. So his passion and who he is as a person, if that’s why you wouldn’t pick him or want him as your leader, alright whatever. Then I don’t want you as a fan anyway. Caleb is one of those guys.”

Caleb Williams is more proof that emotion does not reflect weakness.

That is the mistake people often make. Only the best athletes are stoic automatons unaffected by anything. Such is not the case at all. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott had a great story about such perception. In 1991, his Raiders beat his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, 12-6. After the game, 49ers defensive end Charles Haley was extremely upset. He caused chaos in the locker room, unable to calm down. Eventually, Lott was asked to come over and talk him down. People thought Haley was unstable—a loose cannon. Lott saw the opposite.

He saw a player who cared.

That is how Caleb Williams should be viewed. Don’t see a player overcome by weakness because he cried after a tough loss. See a player who loves the game of football enough for it to matter that much when he loses. It can’t be bad to have somebody like that playing quarterback for you.