Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams learned a lot in his rookie season. Now he’s ready for what’s next.

LAKE FOREST – Bears quarterback Caleb Williams seemed surprised when he walked into Halas Hall’s PNC Center on Monday afternoon and saw how many reporters were there waiting to hear from him.

There might’ve been a few more in attendance standing on the side of the room when the Bears introduced Williams and fellow rookie Rome Odunze a little over eight months ago. But there wasn’t an open seat Monday as reporters waited to hear what Williams had to say a day after his rookie season ended with a last-second win over the Green Bay Packers.

A lot had changed for Williams since he first spoke as a Bear in April. He experienced numerous last-second losses, a double-digit losing streak and a few coaching changes during his rookie season.

But on Monday, Williams tried to find the value in everything that he experienced in his first NFL season as a starting quarterback.

“I knew that there was going to be a lot that I had to learn in a fast amount of time to be able to go out there, play and try and play well, play efficient, play efficient football and try to win games, so I knew there was going to be a tremendous amount and there’s still a tremendous amount,” Williams said. “I’m really excited about that.”

Williams’ season ended with mixed results that are expected from a rookie quarterback. He broke the franchise’s rookie passing record with 3,541 yards and took down an NFL rookie record when he threw 326 consecutive passes without an interception.

But Williams also played a key role in an offense that looked stagnant at times. The Bears never scored an offensive touchdown on their first drive in a game this season and failed to score a touchdown in four games this season. In the end, the offense scored an offensive touchdown in 28 of the 68 quarters it played this year.

All the highs and lows came with teachable moments, Williams said. He learned important traits, from all the different things he needs to do during the week to prepare for a game to how to approach leading a team in the NFL.

“I think there’s been a lot of learning lessons,” Williams said. “I think they were needed for myself but also for this team and can’t wait for what’s next.”

Williams also quickly learned about the dark side of life in the NFL, even if the Bears didn’t intend for him to do so when they drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick. The Bears fired first-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron nine games into the season, then fired head coach Matt Eberflus three games later.

Williams laughed Monday, repeated a question and thought for a moment when he was asked if he was coached well this season.

“I think I was coached well for the task at hand,” Williams said. “Coaches being fired and being here for a certain amount of time, trying to build a relationship between the coaches, I think that’s a challenge in itself to have different coaches throughout the season and different terminologies and the way they believe in stuff, trying to run somebody else’s offense. I think the collective or the overall part of the year, I’d say that I was coached well.”

Whomever general manager Ryan Poles and the Bears choose to hire as their next coach will have obvious implications on Williams’ career. Williams said Monday that he hasn’t talked about the coaching search with his teammates since they don’t have control over who the team will hire.

“I knew that there was going to be a lot that I had to learn in a fast amount of time to be able to go out there, play and try and play well, play efficient, play efficient football and try to win games, so I knew there was going to be a tremendous amount and there’s still a tremendous amount. I’m really excited about that.”

—  Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears quarterback

Although Williams gets excited when someone he’s met before or has a good track record is linked with the Bears' opening, Williams doesn’t put too much thought into the hiring. He’d be open to being challenged by the next coach and hopes to see a balance of his strengths and weaknesses in the new play calling.

Someone who could fit the bill might be Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who the Bears reportedly put in a request to interview this week. Williams said Johnson’s play calling impressed him throughout the season, even during their two games against the Lions this year.

“It’s been really cool to watch,” Williams said. “In our game I’d just kind of sit back and watch and just kind of ... try to learn something while I watch. I was fascinated watching because he always had a great look for counters and things like that. I think he’s obviously done really well, so I think it would be cool to see what that would be like.”