NFC Notes: Emmanuel Forbes, Leonard Williams, Bears, Rams, Seahawks

Bears

• Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren on the upcoming HC search: “Ryan Poles is the general manager of the Chicago Bears and will remain the general manager of the Chicago Bears. … Ryan will serve as our point person on our (search for head coach). … We will work in tandem.” (Kevin Fishbain)
• Warren on QB Caleb Williams: “In the right environment, (Caleb Williams) can be even more special than what he has already shown.” (Scott Bair)
• With all the talent on the roster, Warren believes the HC job “will be the most coveted job in the National Football League this year.” (Fishbain)
• Chicago GM Ryan Poles opened up on the decision to make a coaching change: “At the end of the day, we just came up short too many times. We had to make a change.” (Fishbain)
• Warren talked about firing former HC Matt Eberflus after he spoke with the media hours prior: “In retrospect, could we have done it better? I’ll raise my hand and say yes.” (Bair)
• Bears interim HC Thomas Brown talked about how he began his first team meeting: “I talked about making sure our house is right to begin with. Initial goal is to unify this football team.” (Fishbain)
• Brown named WR coach Chris Beatty and mentioned he will continue to call plays from the field. (Fishbain)
• Bears DC Eric Washington will assume playcalling duties in Eberflus’ absence. (Adam Jahns)

Rams

The Rams recently claimed Commanders’ former first-round CB Emmanuel Forbes this week. Sean McVay said they plan on adding him “to the mix” and want to see how he fits into their defense. 

“I didn’t actually think we would get him because of where we’re at in the claim order, so we were pleased that we were able to get him,” McVay said, via the team’s site. “We’ll add him to the mix, we’ll get to know him and we’ll see where he fits. But that was kind of a simple thing that came to fruition.”

• Rams QB Matthew Stafford suffered a lateral ankle sprain in Week 13 but McVay doesn’t expect it to affect his ability to get ready for Week 14. (Gary Klein)

Seahawks

Seahawks DT Leonard Williams returned an interception for a touchdown in Week 13’s win over the Jets, which marked their defense’s second consecutive game with a defensive touchdown. CB Riq Woolen thinks Williams’ recent score is a testament to the defensive culture they’ve instilled under HC Mike Macdonald.

“For a guy like him, a leader on our team to ball, it’s crazy because we look to him,” Woolen said, via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. “It shows that the culture for our defense is setting in. As you can see, it seems like everybody on the defense is buying in. There’s 11 of us, (but) you’d think it was 12.”

Seahawks DT Byron Murphy said Macdonald always puts players in the “best position” to succeed. 

“He’s for sure in his bag,” Murphy said. “He stays in his bag because he’s always preparing us, and he’s always putting us in the best position to make plays and go out there and win games. Throughout the week, taking it day by day, breaking down the scheme of the offense, the install, how everything works together from the D-line to the linebackers and the DBs, how everything correlates — pass rushing, coverage, everything.”

Seahawks S Julian Love credited Macdonald for their defense’s consistent pressure on Aaron Rodgers in Week 13 over New York. 

“I’ll give credit to Mike,” Love said. “Aaron felt pressure, and thankfully I was rolling down, saw the back trying to slip out and just made a play. I’ll give all the credit to the play call.”