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Caleb Williams mom Dayna Price pictured with the star quarterback during his USC days.
Caleb Williams has made history as one of 16 Black NFL starting quarterbacks this season, but his parents, Carl Williams and Dayna Price, have been cheering on the signal-caller long before he was the face of the Chicago Bears. Stardom does not come without a price as there has been speculation about his dad Carl’s level of involvement in his career.
Last offseason, Caleb shot down the notion that his father was heavily involved in the pre-draft process, speaking on behalf of his son.
“No, I actually shut my dad down quite a bit,” Caleb said of the report during a May 2025 media session, per USA Today. “He has ideas. He’s a smart man, and so I listen, and always listen.
“I’m very fortunate to be in this position in the sense of playing QB, but also very fortunate to have a very strong-minded father. We talk very often.”
Caleb Williams’ Mom Dayna Price Gave the Bears QB the Idea to Paint His Nails
Caleb has his own unique style, which includes painting his nails on gameday. The quarterback’s mom Dayna is a nail technician and gave him the idea to paint his nails.
“It started, I would say, three years ago,” Williams noted during a 2023 interview with USC Athletics, per Yahoo Sports. “It was my last year of high school. My mom does nails.
“Let’s just start it off there. She’s done it my whole life. It’s just kind of always been around me. Nobody else does it. I just kinda like to do new things.”
Caleb Williams Calls Parents, Carl Williams & Dayna Price, His ‘Best Friends’
While Caleb disputed the notion about his father’s involvement in his career, the quarterback emphasized that he has a close relationship with his family. Caleb admitted that his parents are his “best friends.”
“My mom and my dad are my best friends,” Caleb added, per USA Today. “Being able to have conversations with them, to understand that everything they say also is portrayed on me. I think that’s the part of it. But other than that, no.
“Like I said, I’m very fortunate to have one, a father who’s super strong-minded, who’s always there, always wants the best for his kid. …But, no, no, no, definitely a grown man. I shut him down quite a lot, just because, in season, out of season, something that you have to do,” Caleb continued.
“He cares so much about me and my future. We’ve been along this journey so long together that all he wants is the best for me.”
Caleb Williams Dad’ Carl Williams Criticized the NFL Draft
While Caleb was a standout college football quarterback, his dad Carl hinted that his son could stay at USC rather than get drafted by a bad team. Carl was critical of the NFL draft structure which often puts the best players on bad teams.
Things seem to have worked out just fine for Caleb as the Bears landed the NFC’s No. 2 seed in just his second NFL season. Despite the ongoing NFL rumors, Caleb did not skip the NFL draft and was the No. 1 pick in 2024.
“The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first,” Carl told GQ’s Sam Schube during a September 6, 2023, feature titled, “The New King of College Football.” “The system is completely backwards.
“The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league—because of their desire for parity—gets the first pick,” Carl added.
“… So if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”
Jonathan Adams is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams
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