LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Williams has seen better days.

The rookie quarterback is in a significant slump, a great distance from his excellent performances of a few weeks back. He’s a reason why the Bears have lost three straight games and find themselves in a tailspin.

And now his offensive coordinator has been fired. Oh, and the Bears are entering the brutal stretch of their schedule starting Sunday when Green Bay comes to Solider Field.

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“The guy you’ve been trying to get on the same page with isn’t here anymore,” Williams said. “So now you have to kind of adjust and you have to adjust fast, because we’re in the division now.”

That’s a lot for any 22-year-old, even a No. 1 overall draft pick groomed for life as an NFL quarterback. This is the situation is the opposite of what the Bears planned for while seemingly setting up an ideal roster and culture for a rookie quarterback. Williams has faced tons of criticism this week, probably more than he has seen in his career. While he has made mistakes, all isn’t lost for a player who has put lots of quality on tape.

He was pleased to find so many in his corner, expressing faith that Williams can lead the Bears out of hole they’re in.

“I think I’ve got full support from them,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten texts or calls or people coming up to me, with this situation that just happened, and saying ‘We got your back, we’re with you.’ You know, things like that and ‘Let’s go.’ That kind of mindset and attitude has been what it’s what it’s been these past couple days.”

Feeling that is important, especially when a report emerges that some veterans were calling for Tyson Bagent. Tight end Cole Kmet shot that down quickly in his Wednesday meeting with the media, saying, “No. That did not happen.”

“Guys are frustrated. I’m not shying away from saying that,” Kmet said. “We’re frustrated with where the offense has been. All this has been done to try and help him out and get him rolling again. We want to get him back to that point.”

We’re even at the point where reporters are asking multiple times if Williams is the starter and will remain so. Head coach Matt Eberflus isn’t making that change, knowing full well that Williams’ development requires reps and improvement and support from those around him.

“Me and Caleb was talking yesterday,” receiver DJ Moore said. “I mean, he’s in a good space and I’m in a good space. So, all the connections around the offense is going to get better with time and the time is now. So, I think he knows that. I think everybody else in the room knows that and he’s just going to work.”

Williams will be working with a new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. The two didn’t talk a ton previously, but they met Wednesday and discussed how to form a quality partnership moving forward. That will include some adjustments and cohesion on philosophy, decision making and the timing of play calls and operating the offense.

“It was all a positive conversation,” Brown said. “He was receptive to it. Talked about what he can fix and be better for our offense. Clearly, obviously, quarterback’s the most difficult position, so we gotta be better all around him, but it also starts with how we coach it, being more detailed, being more demanding with just him, but also with the entire staff as well.”

That type of work fits with Williams preference toward getting it exactly right. They also have a plan for getting the quarterback into a good rhythm and confirm the confidence in Williams as an orchestrator.

“Yeah, I think we’ll do a good job of marrying everything up together, making everything look the same,” Williams said. “And then from there, you’ll get a few easier passes, a few extra layups. I think it’ll help us in the run game. I think it’ll help us in the pass game being able to do that. And then, I think from there it provides a little bit more explosiveness for us as an offense and being able to help out the complementary football thing that we really want to attack.”