Some crazy rumors surfaced on Wednesday regarding the abrupt resignation of Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams, and it sounds like there was at least some truth to them.
Williams put out a statement on Wednesday announcing he is stepping down as defensive coordinator of the Bears “to take care of my health and my family.” The 53-year-old said he plans to coach again in the NFL after addressing his health.
Hours before the resignation news surfaced, Jon Zaghloul, who runs a website called Sports Talk Chicago, claimed he was told by sources that both Williams’ home and Halas Hall, the Bears’ training facility, were raided in connection with an undisclosed incident. Zaghloul added that Bears legend Charles Tillman, who now works as a field agent for the FBI in Chicago, “broke the news about Alan Williams” to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
A spokesperson for the Bears later said the report of Halas Hall being raided was untrue. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media confirmed that and reported that neither the NFL or Tillman are involved. Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Thursday that any report of Halas Hall being raided is “completely false.”
What nobody seemed to deny is that Williams’ house was raided. On his show Thursday, Pat McAfee said he was told by sources that the raid at Williams’ home did, in fact, take place.
“Our sources have told us, have told me, that an FBI raid did happen on (Williams’ house),” McAfee said. “As soon as you hear that, immediately everybody thinks about what have you heard about houses being FBI raided before. There’s obviously very, very, very serious disgusting allegations that potentially could be at play here.”
Yesterday was a bad day for the Chicago Bears..
Our sources have told us that an FBI raid did happen on Alan Williams' house #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/imirSiUq1S
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 21, 2023
Williams cited health and family reasons for his resignation, but longtime Bears reporter Brad Biggs said there was no indication that Williams’ recent absence from work was related to either.
A former running back at William & Mary and college teammate of Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott, Williams has coached in the NFL since 2001. He was in his second season as the Bears’ defensive coordinator. This was his second NFL defensive coordinator role, as he served as the Minnesota Vikings’ DC from 2012-2013.
