Speaker 1: And welcome in everybody to a special edition of the
Speaker 1: Bears Coaches Show here with gentle manager Ryan Pace. A
Speaker 1: pleasure get to any of you, everybody. This is PNC
Speaker 1: Studios at Hallisa. We're brought to you by a Whippley
Speaker 1: CPAs and Consultants. Matt Naggi's got some work to do tonight, Ryan,
Speaker 1: his coaching staff. So short week and you're pinsioning and
Speaker 1: that's a that's a big move by the general manager
Speaker 1: tonight to spend a whole hour with us, But it's appreciated.
Speaker 1: I know your time is valuable too, but that's a nice,
Speaker 1: nice move, you know, a nice move. I think one
Speaker 1: of my jobs this time of year is to eliminate distractions,
Speaker 1: and I feel like I'm doing that for the coaches tonight. Yeah,
Speaker 1: no question about it. And with a short week and
Speaker 1: so much building into this game. I love how Matt
Speaker 1: is putting this in context this particular game, because it's
Speaker 1: very easy to say, oh my god, it's the Bears
Speaker 1: Packers week, one year open or one hundred, but you
Speaker 1: can't do that. And the evidence was found in last
Speaker 1: year's game at Green Bay. Same story. You know, it's
Speaker 1: a brand new coaching staff. You know, you want to
Speaker 1: make it a good first impression, but it's such a
Speaker 1: long season. Not to diminish the impact of a home
Speaker 1: game in the division. Those are important, but you got
Speaker 1: to put everything in the right context. I think you're right, Jeff.
Speaker 1: I think I think he's done a good job of
Speaker 1: kind of striking that balance of, you know, respecting the
Speaker 1: rivalry to historic franchises, everything that goes with that, but
Speaker 1: also understanding, hey, it's the first game of the season,
Speaker 1: all right. So many times I've heard you and we've
Speaker 1: spoke a lot this year because of the one hundred
Speaker 1: and all the different events and so forth. But you
Speaker 1: and Matt both sought to try and keep that momentum going.
Speaker 1: Don't let the missfield goal and in the Philadelphia game
Speaker 1: ruin what was built. And so do you feel that
Speaker 1: you've accomplished that keeping the momentum going from the time
Speaker 1: that happened where we're at right now. I do, And
Speaker 1: that's been a focus of ours. And I think you
Speaker 1: can go to you know, start with staff hires, you know,
Speaker 1: Chuck Pagano and a lot of the defensive hires, and
Speaker 1: carry that right the free agency. In the movies, we
Speaker 1: made into the draft, into the off season program, into
Speaker 1: training camp, and in the preseason, and we do feel
Speaker 1: like the momentum is going. And like I said today,
Speaker 1: there's there's a good vibe in the building right now,
Speaker 1: and I think it's a it's a good blend between
Speaker 1: excitement and focus. Yeah, I tell you what, You've been
Speaker 1: out in the city a little bit too, you know,
Speaker 1: and your downtime which is not that much, but you
Speaker 1: feel the vibe too in a city. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: I think you know, our fans have been waiting for
Speaker 1: this for a long time and they deserve a winning team.
Speaker 1: And you know, we got a lot of young guys.
Speaker 1: You know, we got a good culture, and we got
Speaker 1: a lot of momentum behind us. I mean, we haven't
Speaker 1: really done anything yet, but I think, like I said,
Speaker 1: the vibe is good in our building. Yeah, we're gonna
Speaker 1: touch on all those other intangibles, you know, including the
Speaker 1: culture and what you guys have done with the roster
Speaker 1: and shaping that roster. I think the cut was probably
Speaker 1: going to be the most difficult one you've ever had
Speaker 1: in your years as a general manager. But m and
Speaker 1: you got a bunch of guys back on the practice squad.
Speaker 1: So even those guys you never know, you know, those
Speaker 1: guys get rotated and at some points during the season,
Speaker 1: and those are valuable guys right there. So do you
Speaker 1: feel that despite the fact you had to make these cuts,
Speaker 1: you still manage to collect the guys you really really
Speaker 1: want it? Yeah, it's it's kind of an emotional weekend
Speaker 1: when you go through those cuts and you know that
Speaker 1: there's a lot of players you're talking to, and then
Speaker 1: you get past that stage, and then there's the twenty
Speaker 1: four hour period where you're really holding your breath, you know,
Speaker 1: hoping these guys clear to your practice squad. And we
Speaker 1: feel good about the way it all transpired, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, we feel strong about our practice squad. And
Speaker 1: again I think you know, as we've built the depth
Speaker 1: and the talent of the team, Jeff, the cuts become harder.
Speaker 1: I feel like our practice squad becomes more talented and
Speaker 1: they all push each other. That competition is important and
Speaker 1: heavy at certain positions on the roster. But you've been
Speaker 1: talking about this too. You're going to take the best
Speaker 1: fifty three. Yeah, we really are. And I think one
Speaker 1: position that applies to is the inside linebackers. We kept
Speaker 1: six inside linebackers. That is a little heavy. Normally you
Speaker 1: keep you know, around four, But you think about the
Speaker 1: talent there. You think about the special teams contribution coming
Speaker 1: from that position, and that's an area we said, hey,
Speaker 1: let's keep the best players. Yeah, linebackers that can run
Speaker 1: like a Josh Woods. The grin on his face is
Speaker 1: unbelievable in the locker room. I mean, this is a
Speaker 1: guy who loves the game. Yeah, you think about you know,
Speaker 1: his history is safety in Maryland. He came here on
Speaker 1: a rookie mini camp tryout. We didn't sign him. We've
Speaker 1: invited him back for the second mini camp and we
Speaker 1: signed him off of that and he's put on weight
Speaker 1: and maintain his speed, transformed a linebacker very well. And
Speaker 1: I think when I look at that group as a whole,
Speaker 1: from number one and number six, day all can run.
Speaker 1: You said it, And I think that's something we've improved
Speaker 1: a lot over the years. Is team speed, which really
Speaker 1: helps us on defense and really helps us on special teams.
Speaker 1: You know, speed kills there's no play. You can never
Speaker 1: have too much speed. And as much as you've done
Speaker 1: with this roster, and I think there's forty eight forty
Speaker 1: eight players that you've brought in. So this is your
Speaker 1: team now, like there are four guys you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. I mean in terms of what you're looking for,
Speaker 1: and then you throw on the practice squad guys. But
Speaker 1: the journey is so I mean, can you even think
Speaker 1: about the moment you got here and where you're sitting
Speaker 1: at right now five years later, How how long and
Speaker 1: how tedious it is to get You can win or
Speaker 1: lose along the way. That's irrelevant to what you're looking
Speaker 1: for that you know in your heart, our hearts, the intangibles,
Speaker 1: the mindset, all those traits that you guys seek and
Speaker 1: players will beyond their their physical abilities to finally be there,
Speaker 1: you know, in terms of what you're really looking for.
Speaker 1: How does that make you feel a general manager? And
Speaker 1: what your staff has helped you put together? Yeah, Jeff,
Speaker 1: I think you know, it takes a long time to
Speaker 1: to you know, to get it, to get it going,
Speaker 1: and I think it's a credit to a lot of
Speaker 1: people in our building and a lot of hard work
Speaker 1: throughout our building and the entire scouting staffs, you know,
Speaker 1: starting with Josh Lucas Cham Kelly, Mark Sadowski, Jeff King
Speaker 1: Pro Scouts, College Scouts, UM. And it's been a it's
Speaker 1: been a build over a lot of years, and but
Speaker 1: we're not there yet. You know, we know that we're
Speaker 1: always trying to improve our roster, always fine tune and
Speaker 1: always tweaking. But you've said it that it's not just
Speaker 1: the talent, it's the type of people we have in
Speaker 1: the culture we have and on our roster and with
Speaker 1: our staff, and you can feel it throughout the building.
Speaker 1: And I think now it's to the point we're you know,
Speaker 1: we there's a standard you know, in our scouts, knowing
Speaker 1: when we're in the draft room and we're talking about
Speaker 1: players were acquiring, there's a standard that we've set and
Speaker 1: we don't want to deviate from that. Now. One of
Speaker 1: the poster boys for that poster men because he's a man,
Speaker 1: is Cody Cody white Hair, and yeah, you know, after
Speaker 1: a media got through the interview with him yesterday, I
Speaker 1: walked over there. He literally lifted me off the ground
Speaker 1: game of this huge bear hug, showing this rare emotion
Speaker 1: you know in terms of that interaction, Uh, just thrilled
Speaker 1: beyond it, but the whole locker room was thrilled. For him. Now,
Speaker 1: those are one of those rare moments, right. That's what
Speaker 1: I love seeing was the team's response to that, because
Speaker 1: you can tell how well liked he is in the
Speaker 1: locker room, and he's a great player, but he's I mean,
Speaker 1: you talk about captain's class and a lot of those
Speaker 1: traits we talk about. He is unselfish team player, uh,
Speaker 1: water carrier behind the scene what I mean. He's not
Speaker 1: afraid to do the dirty work that nobody notices behind
Speaker 1: the scenes, and he's a glue guy for our team
Speaker 1: and we couldn't be happier for him and his wife.
Speaker 1: They're expecting a baby on the way, and it's just
Speaker 1: a it's a special time in his life, a special
Speaker 1: time for our team. And I think our team notices
Speaker 1: that when you reward the right guys, that's noticed by
Speaker 1: the locker room and that's important for us. General manage, sorry,
Speaker 1: general Manager Ryan Pace. Our guest here, I'm Bears Coaches Show,
Speaker 1: filling in for Matt Negge and his coordinators tonight. It's
Speaker 1: brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants in time
Speaker 1: for a check of w bbm's traffic and weather. Together
Speaker 1: them the Eights could even need to Abby Ryan. The
Speaker 1: following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network now
Speaker 1: on news radio seven eighty and one oh five point
Speaker 1: nine FM. This is the Bears Coaches Show, a special
Speaker 1: Labor Day edition featuring the General manager of the Bears,
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace. The Bears Coaches Show is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Whippley CPA sent Celtics Advocate Healthcare for Rison and
Speaker 1: Miller Litte. Now from Hollis Hall, here's the Voice of
Speaker 1: the Bears w BBMS Jeff Jodiac. Oh man, I'm so
Speaker 1: ready to hit somebody other than my teammate, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. Yeah, some we're looking forward to. And
Speaker 1: it's something I feel like it's going because a lot
Speaker 1: of hungrew coming out there Thursday night. Yeah, that's Khalil
Speaker 1: mack As We're walcome you back here to the Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show at PNC Studios at Hallis Hall. And he's
Speaker 1: in a great mood right now, right And he really
Speaker 1: he kept looking down to the ground when he kept
Speaker 1: thinking about hitting somebody else. And while it's a cliche
Speaker 1: and you hear it every preseason from every player, uh,
Speaker 1: you somehow get the idea that what he did last
Speaker 1: first half in his five day ramp up to become
Speaker 1: a Bear. He talked about it today. He goes, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, you take everything. It's it's mindset. It's a mindset.
Speaker 1: It's not about the you know, you get yourself ready physically,
Speaker 1: but the mindset that helps you play the game. And
Speaker 1: I'll tell you a few players have come around here
Speaker 1: that have kind of captured the hearts and minds of everybody, teammates, coaches,
Speaker 1: fans so quickly in this guy. Yeah, it's the passion
Speaker 1: he plays with, and you know, he brings it every
Speaker 1: single day. So every single practice you go to, he's
Speaker 1: one hundred miles an hour. He's disrupting everything. That's the
Speaker 1: type of player that he is. And it's we're lucky
Speaker 1: to have him. You know, he ran out of the
Speaker 1: tunnel for a preseason game and they had, you know,
Speaker 1: young fans running out with him, and I didn't think
Speaker 1: he wanted that kid to beat him running because he
Speaker 1: he wants to win every race. I mean, he was
Speaker 1: going full. The guy's so competitive, he's with his teammates,
Speaker 1: he do. He won't let anybody beat him in any
Speaker 1: kind of sprint. That's the way he is. And that
Speaker 1: that type of energy that he brings, and we've said
Speaker 1: it before, it's infectious to the whole defense. Everybody steps
Speaker 1: their game up when he's around, whether it's practice or
Speaker 1: in the game. And we can't wait to see him
Speaker 1: this season. Yeah, did you celebrate the one year anniversary
Speaker 1: of his arrival yesterday? I mean social media, bear, social
Speaker 1: media had it all over the place. But you know,
Speaker 1: it's hard to forget. Yeah. You know, we kind of
Speaker 1: joked about it when the time came around, but at
Speaker 1: the same time, it was a busy weekend for us,
Speaker 1: so we didn't have a lot of time to reminisce. Yea,
Speaker 1: it is true. So the first injury report was out.
Speaker 1: Trey Burton was limited today, so that you know, you
Speaker 1: met the media this morning and a lot of discussion
Speaker 1: about a slight growing strain. It doesn't appear to be
Speaker 1: anything significant, So do we take that as a positive today? Yeah,
Speaker 1: today was a positive as a step in the right direction.
Speaker 1: I think with any of these, you know, soft tissue injuries.
Speaker 1: You know, he is a mild growing strain. It's kind
Speaker 1: of a day by day process as you as you're
Speaker 1: going through it, and well, you know, we'll see how
Speaker 1: progresses throughout the week, but today was a good step. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and as and a pretty good healthy team. You sigure
Speaker 1: out Rashad Koward working through an elbow, but other than
Speaker 1: end knock on wood, everything's good. And so you know,
Speaker 1: you're you're feeling the the the bounce of not having
Speaker 1: to play players in preseason games. And I think, by
Speaker 1: and large, aside from certain players, just they love playing
Speaker 1: no matter what they'd play with nobody in the stands,
Speaker 1: you know, I think guys are appreciative of that right now.
Speaker 1: I didn't know what to expect actually from their reaction,
Speaker 1: but I think they do feel fresh and we're gonna
Speaker 1: hear a sound bite later on from Taylor Gabriel that
Speaker 1: he feels like he's played games because of the intensity
Speaker 1: of practice. Yeah. I thought coach Naggy did a good
Speaker 1: job explaining the team the why and the starters the
Speaker 1: why like we're going to back off you in the preseason,
Speaker 1: but in replace of that, we're going to increase your
Speaker 1: reps in practice and there's going to be in a
Speaker 1: lot of conditioning in practice, and the players totally bought
Speaker 1: into it. So I feel we have a well conditioned
Speaker 1: team right now, but also a healthy team that's chumping
Speaker 1: on the bit to get out there in live action. Now,
Speaker 1: if you had players that said, hey, you know what, gosh,
Speaker 1: Ryan and Coach, I really want to play. I need
Speaker 1: to play, how do you handle those situations? And maybe
Speaker 1: maybe they have come up, I don't know, you know,
Speaker 1: it's they're all case by case and you just kind
Speaker 1: of talk it out with those guys, and you know,
Speaker 1: in certain situations maybe there's some merit to it. But
Speaker 1: for the most part, everybody bought into our plan and
Speaker 1: it was very collaborative the whole approach, and I think,
Speaker 1: you know, you're you're protecting the health of some of
Speaker 1: those players, but at the same time, as evaluators, we're
Speaker 1: getting a lot of reps at the back end of
Speaker 1: our roster to not only evaluate, but also help those
Speaker 1: guys develop as young players. No story was bigger, really,
Speaker 1: and the only one probably got more column inches written
Speaker 1: about was was the kicking search And the end result
Speaker 1: is Eddie Pinero and I think from going around the
Speaker 1: locker room and hearing everybody, they really love a couple
Speaker 1: of things. A bottom one, there is a confidence in
Speaker 1: this twenty three year old kid that is infectious and
Speaker 1: he's very excitable, and I think those are perfect fits
Speaker 1: for this football team. Now, you still got to prove
Speaker 1: it out there when when when the games get going
Speaker 1: here over the course of the season, but through the
Speaker 1: whole process, how do you how do you frame it
Speaker 1: for everybody out there? I think the process is the
Speaker 1: word that comes to mind is thorough and aggressive. And
Speaker 1: it was the same thing that we've done with the
Speaker 1: receiver position or the running back position in the past.
Speaker 1: It was, hey, you know, we need to get this right.
Speaker 1: So in an ideal situation, we're hitting on a young
Speaker 1: guy that we can grow and develop with long term.
Speaker 1: So we brought in a lot of kickers, a lot
Speaker 1: of tryouts, and it was a thorough process going through that.
Speaker 1: We brought in Jamie Cole, who's probably the top kicking
Speaker 1: consultant in the country. We used a lot of technology
Speaker 1: as to evaluate this and basically it whittled down to
Speaker 1: one man standing and that's Eddie and the team's embraced him.
Speaker 1: He has the right mindset, he's got really good leg talent,
Speaker 1: and we're excited where he's at right now. We have
Speaker 1: a lot of confidence in him. Aside from just knowing
Speaker 1: the facts of what guys maker don't make. Is there
Speaker 1: an instinctive aspect of this position as well, that you
Speaker 1: have a gut feeling about a guy you got a
Speaker 1: run with it. I think there is a little bit
Speaker 1: of that. I mean, obviously we're paying attention to the
Speaker 1: mechanics and how they strike the ball on the lift
Speaker 1: and the timing of the operation and all those things.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think a kicker's demeanor is really important.
Speaker 1: His confidence is really important, and Eddie has that. I
Speaker 1: think his teammates feel that. You can see the way
Speaker 1: they react. Everybody's kind of been on this journey together
Speaker 1: as we've gone through this process, and I think that's
Speaker 1: what's made it special. Now more of the Bears Coaches
Speaker 1: Show with General manager Ryan Pace on news radio seven
Speaker 1: eighty and one oh five point nine FM w BBM.
Speaker 1: He's comfortable. He's comfortable going to the second year. He's comfortable.
Speaker 1: He's confident in his looks. He's confident in his reads,
Speaker 1: he's confidence in the different looks that he's getting so
Speaker 1: and also he's confidence in his receivers knowing that we're
Speaker 1: going to go up and make those plays. That's Taylor Gabriel,
Speaker 1: Bears wide receiver and welcoming you back to the Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show, brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants.
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac with Ryan Pace, the Bears general manager, kind
Speaker 1: enough to spend the hour with us tonight while Matt
Speaker 1: Nage and his staff prepared for the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: on Thursday. Let's talk miss Rubisky, because you know, unsolicited
Speaker 1: a lot of guys, whether it be the offensive line,
Speaker 1: Taylor today talking about you know, everybody asked the same question. Honestly,
Speaker 1: they were as he from last year, and that seems
Speaker 1: to be the popular question almost daily. And it's understandable.
Speaker 1: It's quarterback position. But to hear the guys themselves, they
Speaker 1: don't have to say it, they could say something else.
Speaker 1: They say, there's a confidence in Mitch that has grown
Speaker 1: from last year in this scheme. He's always been confident
Speaker 1: in my opinion, but you're seeing it also from a
Speaker 1: different lens as a general manager and watching it closely
Speaker 1: every day of practice. What do you see? Yeah, I think, Jeff,
Speaker 1: that's a it's a natural progression that you know, you
Speaker 1: come to expect, you know, year two in the offense
Speaker 1: with him, and it's it's not just Mitch though, It's
Speaker 1: it's all the it's the entire offense. Everybody looks more
Speaker 1: comfortable this year. You can just feel it the way
Speaker 1: we practice, the way things operate, but Niche you feel
Speaker 1: the confidence in and out of the huddle, the way
Speaker 1: he processes things, the way he is with his teammates. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's just it's just a comfort level with the system
Speaker 1: and also the players around him. Yeah, and I also
Speaker 1: you can, first of all you tell me, but he
Speaker 1: looks really strong right now, thicker, still moving great, you know,
Speaker 1: going back and watching some of those great runs that
Speaker 1: he had last year. I mean just the eyes are
Speaker 1: still downfield and he's moving out of trouble, which is
Speaker 1: a total weapon against any defense. But just his physical
Speaker 1: maturation also, you sense that's a big part of maybe
Speaker 1: where he said it also, Yes, and I think you
Speaker 1: know it comes with his work ethic. He's an extremely
Speaker 1: high work ethic, so whether it be in the weight
Speaker 1: room or on the practice field. And I think that's
Speaker 1: endearing to his teammates too, because they see the effort
Speaker 1: that he puts in the in the in the film room,
Speaker 1: in the weight room. You know, he's always at the facility,
Speaker 1: and you know, he wants to be great. He wants
Speaker 1: to bring his teammates with him, and I think they
Speaker 1: all see that, and that's very endearing. What did you
Speaker 1: see over the course of camp? And a lot of
Speaker 1: folks want to talk about, you know, how the offfense
Speaker 1: performed against the defense or whatever, or interceptions or whatnot.
Speaker 1: But some of that, you know, you want to you
Speaker 1: want to try things, and is that kind of the mindset. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're trying different things on offense and testing different throws
Speaker 1: and in different plays, and Matt's pushing him and you're
Speaker 1: going against a great defense, and I think that's making
Speaker 1: all those guys better. I think both of our tackles
Speaker 1: are better right now from going against Leonard Foot and
Speaker 1: cleilmac every day. I think, you know, it makes them
Speaker 1: all better. And when you can operate against the defense's
Speaker 1: flying around like that, with that pass rush and that
Speaker 1: much noise in the pocket, I just think it makes
Speaker 1: it that much easier. Sometimes in the regular season, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna repuat a quote from Matt and I don't remember
Speaker 1: what point this offseason happened, but he said, no one,
Speaker 1: not one person truly knows how far that kid has
Speaker 1: come this year than me. I mean, we're lucky. We're
Speaker 1: lucky to have him. I'm looking forward to the future.
Speaker 1: I really am with him because the city of Chicago
Speaker 1: is lucky to have that kid at quarterback. Again, not
Speaker 1: something he has to say, because these things are cataloged
Speaker 1: and remembered, but the belief to have a coach that
Speaker 1: wasn't here when they drafted him, and to have that
Speaker 1: kind of belief and work that hard with him and
Speaker 1: have the assets around him, and that you've also provided
Speaker 1: in terms of skill position players. Is that a perfect
Speaker 1: storm for Mitch Rubisky And I think it is. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, Matt and Mitch are together all the time,
Speaker 1: and I think the more they're together, they're more they're
Speaker 1: seeing things through the same lens, and that's what Matt wants.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, as Mitch is growing with
Speaker 1: a young quarterback, as a young quarterback, I love that
Speaker 1: he's surrounded with Matt Naggey, Mark Helfritz, Dave Ragone, Chase
Speaker 1: Daniel Tyler Bray. I like the room in the in
Speaker 1: the guys that have surrounded him because it's helped his
Speaker 1: maturation over the last two years tremendously. What have you
Speaker 1: seen anecdotally from Like, if there's moments when you're watching
Speaker 1: Mitch on the practice field in those quiet days when
Speaker 1: no other eyes are around, but you're just watching anything
Speaker 1: that's resonating with you these days from Mitch, just just
Speaker 1: the way he's throwing, or just anything anything, anything that
Speaker 1: says wow, I mean, can you can feel we always
Speaker 1: talk about throwing with conviction. You can feel him throwing
Speaker 1: with conviction and confidence. You know. It's and I think
Speaker 1: that's something that's that's steadily improved as he's gotten more
Speaker 1: comfortable in the offense and who he's throwing too. But
Speaker 1: just again, just as work ethic. You know, he's he's
Speaker 1: he's always here. He's always doing something to make himself
Speaker 1: better or make his teammates better. Um, It's just that's
Speaker 1: just natural for him, you know. And I think they
Speaker 1: all feel that, even even away from here, they're always
Speaker 1: hanging out together. Um, He's just he's just a guy
Speaker 1: that you enjoy being around and you enjoy playing with um.
Speaker 1: And that's why we're lucky to have him. The Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show, a special edition featuring General manager Ryan Pace
Speaker 1: brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants, Athletico Physical
Speaker 1: Therapy and the Village of Bedford Park. Once again the
Speaker 1: Voice of the Bears w BBMS Jeff jodyad I think
Speaker 1: he's come through well. I think it's first and foremost,
Speaker 1: his teammates believe in him. We believe in him as
Speaker 1: coaches and have total confidence in in you know, running
Speaker 1: everything at this point. That's Mark Halfretch, Bears offensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: at the podium today, big day for interviews, all the coaches,
Speaker 1: the coordinators and a bunch of players in the locker room.
Speaker 1: A feast for the media today up at Hallisaw and
Speaker 1: Big week. There was a lot of a national media
Speaker 1: here as well as you would expect for the build
Speaker 1: up for the season opener. Bears and Packers will have
Speaker 1: it for you with a four to twenty pregame and
Speaker 1: a seven twenty two kickoff it Soldier Field on Thursday
Speaker 1: back with Ryan Pace, Bears general manager, and we touched
Speaker 1: on it. You know, these guys often don't get a
Speaker 1: lot of the attention, but Dave Ragone and Mark Helfritch,
Speaker 1: the entire offensive staff are tremendous teachers and it's really
Speaker 1: they're fun guys too. They're serious when it gets needs
Speaker 1: to be serious. It's serious when you have a little fun,
Speaker 1: it sounds like to have a little fun. Can you
Speaker 1: take me behind the curtain a little bit about that
Speaker 1: part of it, Like the dynamic of that offensive staff
Speaker 1: as they get together each week to put together the
Speaker 1: game plan, the late nights, the hijinks, whatever that case
Speaker 1: may be. It's it's very collaborative. That's the word that
Speaker 1: comes to minding. Matt takes input from everybody, So you
Speaker 1: could be the offensive coordinator or quality control, take a
Speaker 1: good idea from anybody, and I think you'll walk into
Speaker 1: Matt's office and it's pretty much you know Florida ceiling,
Speaker 1: you know, whiteboard space, and there's play drawn up all
Speaker 1: over it. You know. I'm sure that's been talked about. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but it's neat to see. And they're all different. And
Speaker 1: you know, I think when I think about our coaching
Speaker 1: staff right now, and it's a major strength of the organization.
Speaker 1: It's huge for us because those guys are the true multipliers,
Speaker 1: you know. And we bring guys, we bring an offensive
Speaker 1: lineman who's a young player in James Daniels, and put
Speaker 1: them in Harry Eastad's room and watch Harry develop that
Speaker 1: player and maximize that player. That's huge, and it's throughout
Speaker 1: our building. I really feel like we Matt's put together
Speaker 1: an excellent coaching staff and it makes us look better
Speaker 1: a scout sometimes because when they get in they're able
Speaker 1: to develop them in maximizer skill sets the quickest way.
Speaker 1: And I bring it up because of Andrew Luck. Andrew
Speaker 1: Luck in our game and it's something that you know
Speaker 1: still resonates I think throughout the league. But you gotta
Speaker 1: have a line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1: Knowingly was that part of your mission was to make
Speaker 1: sure that offensive line is protecting this most value piece
Speaker 1: to the puzzle on any NFL team, the quarterback. Because
Speaker 1: you reinvested in Charles Leno, You're reinvested in Bobby Massey,
Speaker 1: you restructured Kyle Long. He was kind enough to do
Speaker 1: that same same with Leno as well, uh Cody, and
Speaker 1: then you drafted a high draft asset for this very
Speaker 1: versatile player who's only twenty one and he's going to
Speaker 1: be controlling that line of scrimmage getting everybody lined up
Speaker 1: with a quarterback that's uh, you know, just twenty five,
Speaker 1: twenty six years old as well. So was that a
Speaker 1: Was that a plan? Yes? It was, And I think
Speaker 1: you know, it starts there. And every good team I've
Speaker 1: been a part of the offensive line has been strong
Speaker 1: and good and there's contuity there and we had that here.
Speaker 1: And I think the more those guys play together, the
Speaker 1: better they get. You can feel it right now, the
Speaker 1: way they play off each other. That's a really tight
Speaker 1: knit group. They're always around each other um and I
Speaker 1: think that's that's big for us right now. Those guys
Speaker 1: are all young, they're all under contract, and they're all coached.
Speaker 1: But who I think is one of the better offensive
Speaker 1: line coach in the league in Harry east Head. Seeing
Speaker 1: what happened this week around the league with the movement
Speaker 1: of players, did anything shock you. And it's hard to
Speaker 1: give up a tackle like Miami did because tackles are
Speaker 1: hard to find. They are hard to find and that
Speaker 1: are ready to plug and play. And that's why when
Speaker 1: you're starting to look for backup tackles and everything that
Speaker 1: is an exercise for using it. Yeah, offensive linemen are
Speaker 1: hard to find, especially left tackles. And you know, to
Speaker 1: answer your question, nothing really shocks me anymore. I think
Speaker 1: we're kind of ready for every kind of You kind
Speaker 1: of set that tone last year, and I think every
Speaker 1: one of these trades too. They're also case by case
Speaker 1: basis and individual. But yeah, the offensive linement and it's
Speaker 1: they're getting harder and harder to find, you know, and
Speaker 1: it's a valuable position for us, and we've invested a
Speaker 1: lot in it. You know, it's obvious. But what I
Speaker 1: like is is we're young there again, they're under contract
Speaker 1: and it's a tight knit group. Thursday nights, regular season
Speaker 1: home all but are kicking off the bears one hundredth season.
Speaker 1: It's brought to you by Miller Lite, the official beer
Speaker 1: of your Chicago Bears. The Bears coaches show what GM
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace and w BBMS Jeff Jodiac continues stay unconventional.
Speaker 1: And what I would tell you is, I mean, I mean,
Speaker 1: if you think about it, we're trying to find a kicker,
Speaker 1: and if we would just do the same thing over
Speaker 1: and over again and expect different results, I think that's
Speaker 1: the definition of insanity. So our process that we went through,
Speaker 1: I'm really proud of the process that we went through.
Speaker 1: That's Chris Tabor Bear Special Teams Coordinator earlier today here
Speaker 1: at Hattis Hall where we are at P ANDC Studios,
Speaker 1: and this is the Bears Coaching Show, brought to you
Speaker 1: by a Whippley CPA's and Consultants. He had a funny
Speaker 1: quote there because that is that is true. That's a
Speaker 1: common um. I guess it would be a cliche or whatever.
Speaker 1: But you gotta you gotta get it right. And so
Speaker 1: you guys feel you got it right. And Eddie Pinero
Speaker 1: right now, and he still has to prove himself. But
Speaker 1: I think with his input and Jamie Cole's and your
Speaker 1: own input as general manager, I mean, you gotta feel
Speaker 1: really good. I know we touched out earliness, so show
Speaker 1: if you're just joining us, we're just talking about, you know,
Speaker 1: the whole kicking process, and he brought it to a
Speaker 1: head today. You got to ask a lot of questions
Speaker 1: about it. He feels good about the entire thing. It
Speaker 1: wasn't some tarade, it wasn't some joke. This was serious business.
Speaker 1: It was serious business with a lot of people involved.
Speaker 1: And you know, uh, you know Brocker assistant Special Team's
Speaker 1: coach as well. And I think just going through that process,
Speaker 1: that thorough process whittled it all the way down to
Speaker 1: Eddie and then we feel good about it. You know, Jeff,
Speaker 1: we knows as a young kicker there's gonna be you know,
Speaker 1: ebbs and flows, and there's gonna be adversity, and we
Speaker 1: might have to have some patience at times, but we're
Speaker 1: confident in the decision. We're confident where he is from
Speaker 1: a talent standpoint and also where he is just from
Speaker 1: from a mindset standpoint. All Right, it is a one
Speaker 1: hundred year celebration that's really been taking care of already,
Speaker 1: which is kind of cool when you think about it.
Speaker 1: It's not something that's gonna it's gonna be always at
Speaker 1: the forefront, but it just kind of adds to whatever
Speaker 1: where everything has come to a head here, kind of
Speaker 1: an apex, you get. Yeah, that one hundred celebration. Everybody
Speaker 1: got really involved in the franchise, the whole building, yourself
Speaker 1: included the addition, which is spectacular. You brought people through
Speaker 1: here last week. It looks better every day, honestly, it's
Speaker 1: just it's so it's so nice. You got a team
Speaker 1: coming off a twelve win season, a playoff. You're right,
Speaker 1: you haven't accomplished anything yet. But you're you're headed in
Speaker 1: the right direction. You've got star players on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball, yet a roster filled with people you
Speaker 1: clearly have great respect, as Matt does, for the history
Speaker 1: of the franchise and everything that's been been done before you.
Speaker 1: When you put together your list and your mission statement,
Speaker 1: did you always keep that in the back of your
Speaker 1: mind about the history of this franchise, especially right now.
Speaker 1: These guys are living and breathing, and I don't think
Speaker 1: they're ever going to forget it. Yeah, I think, you know,
Speaker 1: it's something that we have that we're all very grateful for.
Speaker 1: We all respect, and I think, you know, Coach does
Speaker 1: a good job, you know, with our younger players, you know,
Speaker 1: talking about the history of this team, in the important
Speaker 1: history and all the guys that have walked in their
Speaker 1: steps beforehand. And when you put on this jersey, you
Speaker 1: know who you're playing for. And I think our guys
Speaker 1: take a lot of pride in that. And I think
Speaker 1: that one hundred years celebration brought a lot of that
Speaker 1: to life when they were able to sit there and
Speaker 1: talk to those guys and meet those guys, watch the
Speaker 1: eighty five team walk around and the swagger they carry
Speaker 1: and the confidence they carry. That kind of stuff's good
Speaker 1: for our young players to see, you know. But I
Speaker 1: think there's a good blunt here right now as far
Speaker 1: as respecting the history of the franchise, but also focusing
Speaker 1: on what we can do now. We talked about creating
Speaker 1: our own legacy and what's ahead of us, and I
Speaker 1: think we're looking forward to that. You know, some of
Speaker 1: the guys have walked through the entrance, the player's entrance.
Speaker 1: For everybody hasn't seen this, maybe just check it out
Speaker 1: on Chicago Bears dot com. But you've got the numbers
Speaker 1: of the great players and it's illuminated and there's highlights,
Speaker 1: and guys are saying, I want to be on that wall.
Speaker 1: You know. Is it that infectious even at six o'clock
Speaker 1: in the morning when they come walking in. I think
Speaker 1: the facility everything was done with a lot of foresight
Speaker 1: in mind. So when the players walking every day, they're
Speaker 1: walking by, you know, all the retired numbers and there's
Speaker 1: music pumping in there, and there's a highlight video at
Speaker 1: the end of the hallway and it is, you know,
Speaker 1: inspirational to the to our guys. You know, you do
Speaker 1: want to you realize who's played here before, and you
Speaker 1: want to make your mark on this franchise, to leave
Speaker 1: your mark, leave the jersey in a better place than
Speaker 1: you found it, so that I would say, uh, there's
Speaker 1: some flash with that, but there's a lot of thought
Speaker 1: put behind that entrance to kind of set their minds
Speaker 1: right when they come into the building. That right away
Speaker 1: wakes you up and it's inspiring. You also think it
Speaker 1: as a an effect on players in their own personal
Speaker 1: swagger a little bit. I mean, not to put it
Speaker 1: in a wrong way, to use it in a wrong way,
Speaker 1: but man, this is the Bears. Yeah, I know we're
Speaker 1: at the precipice of something potentially great. Yeah, we're always
Speaker 1: reminding them of that. I do. I think you're right.
Speaker 1: I think when you put on the Chicago Bears uniform
Speaker 1: there is a confidence that comes with that because of
Speaker 1: who this, what this franchise means. And if you haven't
Speaker 1: bought the Bears one hundred years, scrap get you go
Speaker 1: to page nineteen and there's a quote from Ryan Pace.
Speaker 1: I see opportunities. I feel we're on the verge of
Speaker 1: doing something really special here. So that was done months ago.
Speaker 1: But you have to believe that from the moment you
Speaker 1: got here that eventually that statement will deliver. I guess
Speaker 1: you always have, uh, you know, an inner confidence that
Speaker 1: if we if we, if we have time and we
Speaker 1: can do this the right way and build this the
Speaker 1: right way, that this is the goal. You know that.
Speaker 1: And we still have a lot of work to do,
Speaker 1: and but right now, where the roster is and where
Speaker 1: our staff is, you feel like things are kind of
Speaker 1: starting to dial in. And for me, you just have
Speaker 1: a sense of pride and you're very grateful to have
Speaker 1: the responsibility and just come to this building every day.
Speaker 1: It's it's a joy to pull in every day. And
Speaker 1: with the staff we have, the players we have, the
Speaker 1: facilities we have, um, it's a fun time to be
Speaker 1: part of this. And you can take a free agent
Speaker 1: through here now and say, wow, this is all your tools.
Speaker 1: What I think of it, what I love about it
Speaker 1: is it's it's not just flash. You know. I think
Speaker 1: a lot of college facilities are built because they need
Speaker 1: to recruit for that. For us, it's about what makes
Speaker 1: our players better. So everything was done with that in mind.
Speaker 1: So our players feel us reinvesting in them, and that's
Speaker 1: good for everybody. They've become better players, they get rewarded,
Speaker 1: we win more games, and I think I think around
Speaker 1: the league people that's going to be known, and I
Speaker 1: think that makes this a desirable place to be. We're
Speaker 1: gonna pick up that conversation. Got a story to tell
Speaker 1: you about one of your players. I won't say who,
Speaker 1: but it does speak to what you're saying. Before we
Speaker 1: go to this traffic, Gibson's Restaurant group wants to thank
Speaker 1: Ryan for joining us tonight. Bears Coaches Show give car
Speaker 1: to enjoy a meal at any of their Chicagoland locations.
Speaker 1: The Bears Coaches Show with General Manager Ryan Pace continues
Speaker 1: exclusively on the Home of the Bears News Radio seven
Speaker 1: eighty and one oh five point nine FM w BBM.
Speaker 1: And welcome back to the program. Our final segment with
Speaker 1: Bears General Manager Ryan Pace kind enough to join us
Speaker 1: tonight on The Bears Coaches Show is Matt Naggie and
Speaker 1: his staff continue to prepare for the Green Bay Packers.
Speaker 1: Were brought to you by Whipfley, CPAs and Consultants. So, Matt,
Speaker 1: how do you define your relationship right now with Matt
Speaker 1: Nagy in terms of non football? We're gonna buvet football
Speaker 1: for him, And if that's possible, how would you describe
Speaker 1: it and what do you how do you guys work
Speaker 1: together beyond just talking football. You know, obviously we're close,
Speaker 1: we're close in age, we're similar in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: We live you know, half a mile apart, or our
Speaker 1: wives have become close. So it just makes it. It
Speaker 1: just makes it easy, you know, for him and I
Speaker 1: we never let anything fester. So if anything's ever on
Speaker 1: either one of our minds, we talk about it right away.
Speaker 1: We make decisions together. Just I would just say it's
Speaker 1: it's it's easy, you know. Yeah, but your workout maniac.
Speaker 1: You guys ever work out together. He has start the
Speaker 1: pelotons I gotta go, which which is cool to see. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's kind of a work in progress. Sure you're encouraging it. Yes, Well,
Speaker 1: which he does is for his own staff. I mean,
Speaker 1: he wants these guys to spend time, you know, staying
Speaker 1: healthy because it's it's hard. I love that he does that.
Speaker 1: He has time cut cut out for them to work out.
Speaker 1: He brings in massage therapist for his coaching staff once
Speaker 1: a week. It's a there's a one hour period where
Speaker 1: we let the families all come in, we order pizza,
Speaker 1: that we all hang out together with the kids. It's
Speaker 1: so important for the energy of the building. He's really
Speaker 1: conscious of that. Yeah, and that's something that I think
Speaker 1: young parents that are in the building, coaches or whatever,
Speaker 1: can respect you're a dad as well. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's got to be extremely difficult in your position to
Speaker 1: find that balance. And how have you managed that over
Speaker 1: five years? It's hard, you know, because you know a
Speaker 1: lot of times most of the time you're you know,
Speaker 1: you're away in the morning before they wake up, and
Speaker 1: you're home at night and they're already asleep, you know,
Speaker 1: so you've got to find the windows and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I remember, you know, Coach used to always say this,
Speaker 1: it's about your presence, not presence, and I think that
Speaker 1: echoes and just just being available them and making when
Speaker 1: you are around being there. I think it's easy to
Speaker 1: go home and be on your cell phone and but
Speaker 1: you need to detach from work sometimes and I think
Speaker 1: we all make a conscious effort to do that. How
Speaker 1: have you honestly handled wins and losses as it's progressed
Speaker 1: and throughout your course of your career, have you always
Speaker 1: handled them the same way? Do you handle them different now?
Speaker 1: And yeah? So really I think to day we're also
Speaker 1: competitive and we put so much into this. You know,
Speaker 1: it can it can eat it can eat you up,
Speaker 1: you know, because it's it's it's it's can be consuming,
Speaker 1: you know. But I think the one thing when you
Speaker 1: talk about Matt and I being similar, one thing where
Speaker 1: I think we're very much alike his glass half full
Speaker 1: and optimistic mindsets. So when that does happen, our minds
Speaker 1: quickly turned to the next day, the next morning, solutions
Speaker 1: like how can we fix this? How can we make
Speaker 1: this better? And that's that to me, that's energizing, like Okay,
Speaker 1: now now we're fixing the problem instead of just complaining
Speaker 1: about it. And to me that that helps sometimes when
Speaker 1: you go through these losses, that we have a similar mindset.
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers, Let's talk about him a little bit
Speaker 1: before we let you go and move on here for
Speaker 1: the for the night. What's your knowledge of Matt Lafleur
Speaker 1: over the years. Yeah, you know, to follow out his career,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, and he's a bright, young, offensive mind,
Speaker 1: you know, no different than Matt was you know a
Speaker 1: year ago. And I think you know everybody's everybody's looking
Speaker 1: for that, and um, you pair him with Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: and that's a dangerous combination, you know, and we know
Speaker 1: there's going to be some new wrinkles. You can study
Speaker 1: where he's been in the past, you can study Tennessee,
Speaker 1: but he'll have his own flair on this offense. And
Speaker 1: you put some talent behind that, and it makes them
Speaker 1: dangerous in terms of what we're looking at here. You
Speaker 1: said today, Yeah, the expectation always is to go to
Speaker 1: the super Bowl. We'll look at it a little different
Speaker 1: way because you got some really good veteran stars on
Speaker 1: this team. You get the two pillars that you brought
Speaker 1: in initially and a Keem Hicks who has unbelievably great
Speaker 1: respect for you guys, been together eight your eight of
Speaker 1: his nine years. He credits you for a lot of
Speaker 1: his you know, the way his career is turned and
Speaker 1: allowing him to be him. But Danny Trevathan and then
Speaker 1: you throw in one of your draft picks Roquan Smith
Speaker 1: to Kyle Fuller and Prince and Mugamara and Akeem Hicks,
Speaker 1: I mean, Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd's still rising and
Speaker 1: Eddie Goldman's just twenty five five years into league, and
Speaker 1: Eddie Jackson became a star player who still has a
Speaker 1: lot of room for growth, and veterans with Buster Screen
Speaker 1: and Clinton Dix. I mean, as you're putting these pieces
Speaker 1: all together over time, are you seeing it in your
Speaker 1: mind's eye what it might look like no matter who's
Speaker 1: coordinating the defense. I think it's something. Yeah. I think
Speaker 1: you're you're always envisioning how it's all going to come
Speaker 1: together and how they're all going to click together, you know,
Speaker 1: And I think, what's It's such a team sport. So
Speaker 1: you had these talented individuals, but how do they play
Speaker 1: together as a group? And what I think what's great
Speaker 1: about them is they're not only great players, but they're
Speaker 1: all great teammates and they all get along so well.
Speaker 1: You can see it in practice every day, the way
Speaker 1: they communicate, the way they push each other. That's what
Speaker 1: I think. Uh, it's going to make them really good
Speaker 1: as we go forward. I don't know what the ceiling
Speaker 1: is um, but we're excited about it. And then offensively
Speaker 1: another year together with Robinson and Tark Colin and Anthony
Speaker 1: Miller and Cordall Patterson I mean you feel you've got
Speaker 1: enough weapons? Yeah, we feel like we do. And I
Speaker 1: think it's you know, it's been a conscious effort to
Speaker 1: surround our quarterback with weapons and and we felt like
Speaker 1: we've done that, you know, with the receivers and the
Speaker 1: running backs and the height ends we do. And again
Speaker 1: I think we always, I know, the focus is always
Speaker 1: on the quarterback and his growth, but it's you really
Speaker 1: feel it with our skilled players too. Year two in
Speaker 1: this offense, just I'm excited about their run them backs,
Speaker 1: are you, Yeah, from top to bottom. And so it's
Speaker 1: going to be fun to watch the way we use
Speaker 1: all three of those guys, really four of those guys,
Speaker 1: because they're all different, all bring different things at the table.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, it's gonna be fun. I know everybody's
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. You included. It's a brand new
Speaker 1: year and a lot of great memories to be to
Speaker 1: be turned into the Bears lore hopefully in two thousand
Speaker 1: and nineteen. Appreciate all your time, Thanks for sitting in tonight.
Speaker 1: Thanks Jeff, that's Bears general manager Ryan Pace. That's gonna
Speaker 1: do it for tonight's program. Thanks as well to our
Speaker 1: producers tonight, Roger Plummer, Andy Gersher and Dan Barrelli helping
Speaker 1: us out. It's the Bears and the Packers for the
Speaker 1: season opener Thursday Night. Pregame at four twenty kickoff at
Speaker 1: seven twenty two. Please join us myself and Tom there.
Speaker 1: This has been Bears Coaches Show on WBBM News Radio
Speaker 1: seven eighty one five point nine FM WBBM