‘Hard Knocks:’ Nick Saban’s surprise advice to Chicago Bears on Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears made their debut on HBO Max’ “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday night. Each Tuesday, Bears fans will get an inside look into their favorite team for the first time.

Here are the top takeaways from episode 1.

Nick Saban provides some quarterback advice

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban visited Bears head coach Matt Eberflus during training camp. Saban was Eberflus’ head coach at Toledo in 1990.

During Saban’s visit, he talked with Eberflus about one of the top topics in the Bears’ organization: developing a rookie quarterback. The two spoke about Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and what he’s facing as a No. 1 overall draft pick.

“To me, expectations are a killer,” Saban said. “This kid you’ve got, this kid’s got so much media, so much hype, so much expectation on doing well and he has to develop so quickly to meet the expectations that everybody has for him, it’s almost impossible.”

When the two continued to talk about developing quarterbacks, Eberflus asked what Saban did. Saban provided a list, followed by the clips of the Eberflus and the Bears following his advice.

Saban said he stood behind the quarterback and always wanted to hear their version of a play. He also said he was never negative with a quarterback in front of the rest of the team and thought it was more effective to show the quarterback something instead of telling them.

After saying it’s natural for most people to want to be average, Saban questioned how a quarterback tries to make those around him play better.

“You’ve got to have a good work ethic, you’ve to be able to overcome adversity, you have to reinforce positive performance from the other players,” Saban said. “You can’t be a transactional leader. This is where a lot of athletes are, it’s all result-based. If the play works, it’s great, if it doesn’t it’s terrible. Well, that ain’t really how it is.

“Being a transformational leader is trying to serve other people, trying to help them for their benefit. You have a vision of what you want to accomplish under your view of [what] the offense should be. You’re going to try to inspire the people to help you do that. You’ve got to be somebody somebody can emulate.”

A glimpse into D.J. Moore’s contract extension

Viewers got a look into the Moore contract extension, although there was no video of the locker room celebration Moore mentioned when he met with reporters last week.

During the section, Bears president Kevin Warren asks for the specifics of the extension, the most expensive in franchise history.

“It’s a win-win,” Warren told Bears general manager Ryan Poles and his staff. “Great job on this. This looks very fair for both parties. It’s the right thing to do, two years early. He’s done everything he’s supposed to.”

Poles brought in Moore discreetly during a special teams portion of practice to sign his contract. After, Moore is excited to have the deal done when talking to players and coaches, earning a chest bump from tight end Cole Kmet.

“The Eagle” in a Speedo steals the show

Bears rookie offensive lineman Theo Benedet stole the show Tuesday with his rookie performance in front of the team. Benedet, a Canadian, honored his new home by starting to sing “God Bless the U.S.A.” shirtless with other rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie playing small cymbals.

In the middle of the performance, Benedet ripped off his pants and revealed that he was wearing a Speedo with an American Bald Eagle. The performance earned him the nickname “the eagle” from Eberflus.

Benedet had a more somber moment toward the end of the episode when he suffered a strain in the Bears’ preseason opener and will be out until the end of training camp.

Eberflus’ glow up

Hard Knocks made sure to mention Eberflus’ different look since the end of last season. Eberflus’ wife Kelly told him to keep his beard and cut his hair shorter.

Kelly sent over an example of Ryan Reynolds to his barber.

“My wife, she liked it, and that’s the most important critic,” Matt said. “For me, if she likes it, I want to keep it.”

“He thinks he looks cool now,” Kelly said. “I think he looks cool now, too.”

Williams a better quarterback than singer

Williams showed that he should stick to throwing the ball instead of singing. During a rookie performance, Williams performs John Legend’s “Ordinary People,” which is met with plenty of jeering from his teammates.

Williams did earn some laughs at the beginning of his presentation when he mentioned his $25.5 million signing bonus.

No McCaskeys

The McCaskey family didn’t make an appearance in the first episode. While the episode started with some of the history of the team, it didn’t mention team owner Virginia McCaskey or Bears chairman George McCaskey.

After opposing the team being featured on the series for years, it’ll be interesting whether the family will be featured in future episodes.