Ron Rivera reflects on his NFL career as both a coach and player | Bears, etc. Podcast

Intro ready got open man DJ Moore Endzone touchdown touchdown Bears I am Jeff Jon again Blitz is on down he goes what was like playing for Coach dicka I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure coming he's in big trouble down he goes Mont sweat and now Bears Etc brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of the Bears Jeff jonc and Tom ther after a little time off we're back and ready to roll episode 76 of the Bears at set of a podcast Jeff jonak here with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom the and our special guest this week his Super Bowl winning teammate uh in 1984 rookie second round linebacker the former Cal bear turn Chicago Bear Ron Rivera good to see you Ron good to see you Tom uh we're back and uh training camp is beckoning and you're out there in Lake Tahoe getting ready to enjoy your day appreciate the time how you feeling I'm feeling great um okay I know this not a coincidence because I know we're going to talk a little about good old number 76 so it's being the 76 podcast I'm kind of excited about it yeah how about that that was my next thing uh talking about Steve McMichael for sure but we're going to talk about a bunch of things uh I like the teammates when they get together and talk and reminisce and Tom was with a bunch of them on Monday night at the Glen Club in Glen viw tell us about that a pro football hall of fame Extravaganza with some of your old teammates there as well yeah you know Ron as long as we've been around the game whether we played Pro Football Hall of Fame Extravaganza whether we coached whether we broadcast whenever you get a chance to be around a room full of Hall of Famers it kind of you know flips this switch of just the excitement of being around all these guys that had such incredible careers that they get honored with the Hall of Fame so last night at the Glenn Club they have a dinner that benefits the Hall of Fame in Kon Ohio and at the dinner last night there was 19 Hall of Famers there will be more today at the golf outing but when you're around Anthony Munos and Richard den and Jimbo covert nean Steno and Andre re Reed Thurman Thomas uh Terrell Davis uh Tim Brown Mike Haynes and I could go on Orlando Pace I go on and on but and that's kind of Ron you know the thing about it is as old as we are and as long as we've been around when you get around guys like that it still kind of brings out that little kid football excitement in you that you know something does it to us every year the football season comes around oh it's amazing because you know there are certain types of athletes that I do I do Fanboy myself and anybody that's a Hall of Famer doesn't matter the sport I I think it's an amazing thing and you know it's funny because one of the one of the times that uh I ran into a a player and it was like wow this is this is him was Marcus Allen uh Marcus and Allen and you know we competed against against him but I just still remember him from his college days because I played against him collegiately and you know he was always one of my favorite players um next to Walter pton I thought one of the greatest running backs in the league I really do mean that I mean to me Walter was the greatest but Marcus was my next guy I was always you know one of those guys that just really I loved everything about who the dude was and it was funny because last night I was looking and I was saying okay there's Richard D there's Anthony Munos there's Randall McDaniel there's Orlando Pace and I was thinking oh my God what an offensive line there is right here amongst these 19 Hall of Famers that you could put them on a field in the prime of their career and it could be you know considered one of the greatest offensive lines in the history of the league so um I always enjoy it and it's the whole you know and I was thinking as I was driving to the banquet you know football doesn't start on the day of the Season football is kind of a wrapup period where that angst is in your stomach a week ahead of time in some of the training camps that we suffered through as players it it really it kind of took a toll on you in the last week or so before you were going to training camp the anticipation of the difficult uh the the difficult atmosphere that we are going to be in it wasn't a pleasant experience that last seven to 10 days no it really wasn't because you know like you said the anxiety of it all more than else just knowing that hey we got to get ready prepared and you wanted you just felt you wanted to make sure you were ready you don't want to let anybody down the bears' center of podcast is brought to you by millerite taste like Miller Best offensive linemen in NFL history time go to millerlite.com Bears pood to find delivery options near you celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company Milwaukee Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces with Ron Rivera Tom the Jeff joniak if you had the absolute best five offensive linemen in NFL history against the best defensive line in NFL history this from a a defensive coordinator two-time NFL coach of the year second round linebacker for the Chicago Bears and Tom te a part of a great the greatest offensive line in NFL history who'd win those battles more often than that let's start with Ry well but see this is the thing that you've got to add on to it though you got to add on the back fields you got to add on the linebackers you got to add in on the tight ends and the receivers I mean you know what if there's a game in this world that is a complete game to me it's football all 11 guys have to be on the same page because if you're gonna match that type of ability against each other the one guy that doesn't do it the right way is going to be the weak link so to me you can have all the discussions you want and that's great but to me it's an 11 on 11 game and so until we know who those other seven and six guys are I'm not getting into a conversation like that especially in a room full of Hall of Famers right right you know Jeff and Ron so I would think okay Dwight Stevenson from the Miami Dolphins John Hannah from New England Patriots Larry Allen from the Dallas Cowboys Anthony Muno from the Cincinnati Bengals and uh a right tackle you know there there's a bunch of them but you think about you know if as soon as you think of Five Guys you can think of five more and that's incredible thing about the depth of the NFL because now we have to talk about the 20s 30s and 40s of some of the guys that were in the NFL at that time that were probably some of the toughest roughest guys in the history of the sport when you look at the archaic of the game at that point so like Ron said um if listen if you want to take 11 on 11 I'll take the 85 Chicago Bears against any team in the history of the league and um I think when you look at what they were able to accomplish when you look at the team the depth the Special Teams offense and defense um you know give me that give me that group against anybody oh I agree with that Tommy because to me I think the biggest thing everybody got to understand is that this really is about team and chemistry is a big part of this game and and I don't think people understand that and and I think for that brief moment in history you know that 85 season the chemistry is exactly where where we needed it to be and everybody goes well but you know you weren't perfect that year and I said yes but you know what the best thing that happened to us was we lost one game I think that that's the one thing I will say about that and in the fashion we lost it hey that that was on us more than it was on anybody else in my opinion let's pick it up from there and Steve McLendons Hall of Fame induction talk Steve mcel uh obviously a big week coming up here in a few uh as his induction into the Hall of Fame I I can't imagine what your feelings are respectively those who have seen him uh uh but teammates have been rolling in uh um Ron I know you've seen him as well and I think you're going to be there uh when he is inducted in the Hall of Fame at his house so tell us what your emotions are about this um I'm very emotional about it because you know I was very fortunate I was young at the time and guys like Ming and and and and Hamp kind of took me and Jim Mory under their wings you know and and and we were kind of like the guy yeah I know Tommy's laughing about it because he know because we followed him around like a couple of puppies following the big dogs um and so when Jimmy and I went and and we saw him um and was tough just because you know of who he was to us and that's my my Fondest Memories is who he was to me you know he was always the guy that pushed me he was always a guy that gave me a lot of grief um but at the same time would Pat me on the back and just tell me man good job being a steady guy for us I mean that that him saying that to me just that that made me feel really good it really did um and I'm very happy for him because I really do believe he does deserve this for a lot of reasons and and and one of the reasons is you look at him statistically throughout his entire career the number of games he played throughout his entire career he was an Iron Man and then you look at how he helped to elevate the guys around him to me those are the qualifications of an NFL football player to be a Hall of Famer is that you have tremendous career stats which he does you play consistently okay and you played for a long time and then you turn around and you elevated the people around you I mean think about Hampton Dent okay and single ter are guys that are all in the Hall of Fame and those are the guys that were around him that I think he helped to elevate their play I really do believe that and then the rest of us the rest of us were guys that you know he helped raise and um you know and I know one thing uh Tommy you know a little bit more just because you had to practice against that guy every day you know you know Ron I I I always think about my first exchange with Ming and um how I had come from the usfl and then I came aboard the Bears after you guys got beat in the NFC championship game and the difficulty of trying to make the team but how great of a team you are you guys were at that point and I remember Ming coming up to me and goes hey I want to tell you what I go live and practice I don't want you coming out here and thinking we got this brother-in-law card going on you put air in your helmet you tape up your shoes and you put hand pads on when you come out here to practice and it was it was like that warning of of Steve McMichael from Steve McMichael but I had played in the usfl with a couple of guys that were really familiar with Steve and so I was forewarned like months and weeks in advance of Steve McMichael and to me because I was a Chicago guy he was bigger than life already but like you said he was one of the most gracious complimentary helpful teammates that you could possibly have he had this Persona to the general public but he had this professionalism about him inside the lock room that you know it's it's almost uncomparable in a lot of ways and especially for me because I practice head-to-head against him every single day he was there to make you better to make sure that he was making the team better and that's one of the things that that I'll I'll Always Love About Steve McMichael you know the one thing you said um about him was that he was that complimentary player that teammate that could Pat you on the back I mentioned it earlier too um one of the greatest stories I remember and I tell the story I I wish I could remember the running back's name but we had drafted a kid a running back out of Texas and I remember during training camp how hard Ming was on the kid and one day in practice Ming hit the kid pretty hard and the kid kind of you know and then went back to the Huddle and and so then Ming came out and hit him again and the kid told meing go hey I'm coming back and Ming says I hope you do so a couple plays later kid comes back they hit at the line of scrimmage Ming shoves the kid the kid throws a punch hits him in the helmet and Ming looked and turned to everybody the kid was a rookie out of Texas a running back and Ming turned looked at everybody in the H he goes the pup will bite I like that was I mean but that was it and it was his way of pushing this kid testing this kid just to find out how tough he was like I always felt that that's a great story there's a lot with this guy but he's smart he is smart smart smart guy and taught me a lot of things about football just like the two of you honest to God this feels to me like uh I've gone to grad school and then getting my doctorate as well working with Ron Rivera when he first started with the Bears as a quality control coach leaving the media side to enter the coaching side as an uh defensive quality assistant with the Bears and uh just little conversations you drop them on my booth at H Hall which I still have and Tommy of course watching tons of tape with Tommy I just got to thank you both cuz you took this young pup under your wings both of you guys and taught me a lot and I still learn a lot every conversation I have um but that tells me why you were an offensive lineman and why you were a smart defensive player turned NFL head coach Ron you just love the you love the game you love talking about the game you know I I do I I enjoy every aspect of it you know even you know you learn and you constantly learn like you said and I still feel like I was learning and growing all the way up to the end I mean you know my last year in in in Washington was one of the most difficult things I've ever gone through and a coach you sit there and go okay I get this this is how these things happen and these are how you can make things better and you know I've always looked at it that way but I will say this I'm I was about as fortunate a person as anybody because I was being taught by Buddy Ryan okay buddy was hard on me buddy pushed me and one time I I went in buddy said look this is you know you you're getting close you know he said he said well good I'm glad to know you you have a you you have a point where you're going to stop but I also want you to understand the only reason I'm pushing you is because I want to make you better to help this football team win and just that explanation of everything meant enough to me to know that hey I can do this I can push myself through and I did and the reason being was though was he took the time to coach me to teach me the game and give me the insights and elements that I would need and and not really necessarily knowing but for the future because a lot of things that I did especially when I was in Carolina uh were very similar to what I learned from Buddy Ryan and from Mike Dicker for that matter yeah that's my next question Ron when you look at buddy and you look at dka and Ron Rivera the head coach you know because I think of I think of Leslie Frasier and I think of Mike single ter and I think of you and I think of dickin I think of Buddy Ryan so if if someone's meeting Ron Rivera the head coach for the first time is is Buddy more of an influence or dika you know strategically um and game planning wise I I would I would tell people buddy Ryan I I learned a tremendous amount of about football you know you remember I used to have to stand back there with him during practice and he would call defense from there and what I didn't realize was he was testing me at the time I would be I was standing next to him and he would signal in the defenses and he'd tell me what's the call and I'd give him what the call was and he goes what's your job and I said well you know I'm I'm supposed to read off of this when I see this action I'm doing this when it's coverage I'm dropping here when it's we man I got that I mean he was constantly testing me so when I finally got my chance to play I was ready I mean mentally I I I had it down because he took the time to do that now coach dicka he I mean he he he was there was a psychological approach to the way he coached us right okay and I remember this one time Tommy and and it was it was that summer that was real hot I mean it was a blistering summer and guys were dropping left and right and dick was on us I mean he was ripping our asses getting after us and a couple guys came to me and said chica man you need to go talk to I said why me because for whatever reason you're the one who always seems to listen to I said all right so I went in I went up to coach and I said I said I said hey coach you got sex sure I said coach you you've been pushing the boys pretty hard you've been getting after us pretty hard I said man that's some of the guys are begin to wonder and he looks at me goes Ronnie let me tell you something I would never ask you guys to do anything that I didn't think I could do yeah at that moment is what is when I realized that damn this dude's got a high standard this guy's a Hall of Famer and he believes we can do it so I went back and I told the guys hey man he's just he's just pushing us he just thinks that we we we don't even know what our limits are you know and it was just but that was him that's the way he he he always tried to think to find that edge that button to push on us and I think he did it for the most part the way it needed to be done we're brought to you by PNC official Bank of the Bears all right we Super Bowl 41 talked McMichael uh but you're also on the Bears 2006 Super Bowl team uh Super Bowl 41 that opened for the only time in NFL history Devon Hesters kickoff return on his way to a legendary career himself so he will also share the podium at uh Canton here in a couple weeks thoughts on that that moment and Devon overall how he impacted and changed how we looked at special teams well I think first and foremost it just when you worry about the opening kickoff okay setting the tone for the game um that's like how Michael Jordan affected the the basketball game you know when certain things certain aspects uh become a concern um and they are reality as far as your concerns are concerned uh this guy's for real and that was the one thing we learned very quickly about Deon is that his impact in the game was everything from not just SC scoring but field position okay the way people punted the ball to him the way they kicked the ball off to him you know uh anytime he came onto the field as an offensive player everybody had to be concerned about him and so I think he finally getting the recognition he deserved as well as that position special teams Return Man is a very special position if you got a dual guy you know that that's a pretty that's a pretty impressive young man Ron you and I spent probably our entire career and I always bring up because I work with Jim morresy more than you but we spent our whole career on kickoff return together and you think about you talk about the role of the kick returner back in our era and so now bring it up to this era of these new changes on kickoff and kickoff return does that excite you because I was super disappointed in what happened to the kickoff return but I'm glad to see what they're trying to redo in the kickoff return what are your thoughts I probably have the same thought you do Tommy I loved everything about it um the one thing that the anxiety I had during it was I didn't want to be the one guy that we turn the film on that oh Ron if you'd made your block he goes the distance you know so you did whatever you could to get your guy moved off his spot um you really didn't want to and when you had guys that had the ability like Willie G and Dennis McKinnon Dennis Gentry guys that had the ability to explode time whether it be punt return or kickoff return you had to do that and you know I was also fortunate that one of my best friends in the NFL as a coach Dave to was the special teams coach and the one thing Dave told me that that that he had told Devin was he went to Deon and said look you run like a running back but you have the speed of a wide receiver he said nobody's gonna want to tackle you especially when it starts to get cold in Chicago and it was interesting that he put it that way and he just told Deon that hey you've got that kind of ability let's go and it's just you think about that but then Dave preached to all the other blockers you don't want to be the guy that when I turn the film on that misses the block so it was I mean it it was a motivating factor was that and and it impacted our special teams and and and and deservedly so because you know Devon really is a special guy Julius Julius Peppers Peppers a guy that uh you did not coach in Carolina he he went to the Bears in 2010 uh when you got the job uh in 2011 if I'm not mistaken and uh obviously seeing this unique uh specimen of an athlete they really did impact the Bears in his four years before he went over to the Packers uh just I don't know uh these words that come to mind when they talk about certain players being what was Javon K's nickname he was the freak right I think the freak was Julius Peppers from day one and to be not matched well I I'll tell you this this Jeff I I was also um there when Julius finished his career he came to us at the very end okay I forgot about that so I got to watch him um interact with the community of Charlotte which absolutely loved him and adored him and then interact with his teammates a couple of them that had played with him that absolutely loved and respected him as well um and it's easy too because when you get to know who Julius is the kind of young man he is it was he was impressive guy he really is very smart very bright um and a very likable person very respectful um and I can remember when we started OTAs in many he was there he was there with his teammates getting himself ready for for his last year and to watch him do things to watch him play watch him practice he always did everything to the best of his ability it was an amazing thing we were running they were running Sprints and Julius was still winning I mean you know he was running with the linebackers sometimes and Luke ke as fast as they get and he and Luke would be neck and neck to the very end I mean it was an impressive thing to watch who Julius Peppers was as a football player you know Ron last night we were talking about I went to a Hall of Fame event last night in Chic at the Glen club and so they did this feature that Anthony Munos introduced and they talk about how they used to get the knock and when they were in their hotel room they would come and tell them that they members of the Hall of Fame but they kind of changed it where they had a player go to the uh New Hall of Fame and Ducky's house knock on the door and tell them and it was funny because Bruce Smith was there for Julius Peppers and so Bruce Smith is more of an our Generation guy you know one of the greatest sackers in the history of the game but you you see what Julius Peppers was able to accomplish but how humbled he was by the presentation and the recognition and the announcement that he was going into the Hall of Fame it kind of gives you an appreciation for a guy that you broadcasted for but you never really get to know now you get to see him a little bit behind the scenes at home with his kids being presented with the honor of the Hall of Fame so you know the way you talk about him and what we saw on video last night you can tell a lot about um what a man what a man he is you know the impressive thing about Jo B but anything else he always talked about the other people his teammates and and that to me also is something I think is a very humbling experience is that when a guy is willing to recognize the guys that helped him get there you know and you're right that's humble and and I I got a lot of respect for for for him just because of of the things that he has said about his the guys that he's played around when it's time to tackle some game day deals then go with a grocer who's been a part Future plans of Chicago since 1899 ju Osco the official grocery store of the Chicago Bears okay so Ron Rivera what what is your plan I know you did some NFL live work for ESPN but not being in a training camp uh for the first time in a long time with the reality of this crazy sport uh H what will you do well I am going to do some television um and that's that's to be determined for who uh still okay there's there's G to be an announcement coming probably in a week um then secondly um Stephanie and I did something we hadn't done for the first time in 26 years and that was in February we took a vacation where we literally left the country um we had never been able to do that it's always been a weekend thing in February just because you know The Season's wound down you're getting yourself ready for for combine and you may steal a weekend but we actually took 10 days and went on vacation and she loved it and see here I Going away thought I thought you'd tell me You' go away for a month 10 days for a football coach is hard to do a month then that would be getting away well you know what's funny was um I would have my phone with me like I always used to do all the time because something always came yeah so I had my phone with me and for the first few days it never rang and Stephanie says why are you carrying your phone I said well I don't know I'm just used to carrying it just in Cas but it was um it was it was different it really was honestly um but I most certainly gonna do end up doing some television um and and I'm going to do some Consulting work as well and so it's going to be uh it's going to be a little bit different it has been different to be honest um you know like I I kept one eye on what was going on in the offseason as far as people getting ready for the draft and free agency uh then I've kind of kept an eye on what's been going on in OTAs and mini camps but not like in the past where you're really trying to pay attention figure out what you can do as far as an edge is concerned so uh and then we'll go from there but I am looking forward to to to seeing what's going on with uh with the broadcast side of it um and uh it should be fun Ron I Thoughts on Hard Knocks got a question for you because as long as I've been around the NFL I've never been a part of it I'm gonna ask you as a player and as a head coach your thoughts about Hard Knocks did you ever vote against it for the any team that you were coaching for and what would you think of it now having a chance to look on it as a player or as a head coach well to be honest with you I've never really liked the idea of having people inside getting to see what really goes on behind the scenes um this is a difficult game it's a different game it's it's I I I tell people it's a high velocity game and and if you can't handle it you fall to the side very quickly um and back then we used to call it mental toughness and those guys that were mentally tough enough to to to handle it to deal with it were the ones that I always believe were the ones that always flourish um in today's world when when when it gets like that people go um you know that that creates problems that that creates mental health issues so it's a little different so I think because of it now that people are seeing it people are a little more careful so I think it's kind of changed the game a little bit it's kind of giv people a little more insight I think than than we should have given people I really do think that just because I mean Tommy you know what I'm talking about because there's stuff that goes on that first of all is not PC right um and and and I know some of it you should never do but there are some of it that even though it's right on the borderline of being PC um I think it helps weed out it helps kind of push people in the direction of of to whether or not they can handle it and play in this league I mean it's a different game it really is and not everything is for public consumption um there are some great stories though there really are um we did one our own when I was in Washington when um I had a player uh who made the Pro Bowl as a special teams guy and Jeremy Reeves and Jeremy's story was tremendous and when we were going to tell them um our video Department our our social media Department um they uh they wanted to film it and actually it's funny because my daughter was uh worked for us at the time in a social media department and um so she set it up I brought Jeremy in and told him and he broke down the reason Jeremy broke down was you know he had just recently lost his mother and it was something that you know she would have been tremendously proud of so those are the stories you want people to see you know the the success stories of guys getting somewhere and doing something but some of the stuff other stuff wow I mean that's I've always and we did um we did all All or Nothing um when I was in Carolina and that was hard because everywhere you turn you're aware of the camera is there you're aware that you're miked up and so now you've got to be careful and you've got to be aware of what you're going to say and how you're going to say it and um you know I I did one Pittsburgh we played Pittsburgh that year and they they thumped us pretty good and at half time uh I was not very nice and what I and what I had to say wasn't very well should never be should never be shown to my mother yeah and unfortunately my mother side and um and so you know I mean it's just there are some things you you should show and some things that that that I think still think you know are not for public consumption I really do but I get it I understand it I know it's great television and I know it's great ratings and and and it means a lot to to TV and to to to the league itself and it gives people an inside look v a real quick question here sorry Jeff is number one I Being cut don't know this run um I I have been cut I don't know if you've ever been cut and so is it harder being cut or is it harder cutting somebody so if you had you've had the approach of both being a head coach and being a player um honestly for me personally it was harder being the guy that had to call somebody in and cut them um when I got released from the Bears I had a great conversation with Dave wad Dave was a gentleman he really was we had a great talk and I just looked at Dave and I said coach is this personal and he said no Ron this is business and I said Dave that's all I needed to know I understand when I got into this league the first thing I told Stephanie it says we can never forget that this is business as long as this business I'm fine and so that was that was the conversation it's the same thing when when Lovey Smith let me go after the Super Bowl and I asked lovey I said is this person I said Heaven know Ron this is what about what I want to do I said coach I'm fine with that and that's just the way you have to approach it at least I believe you do but now when you're on the other side and you've got some young men that you've got got to bring in and tell them hey look I'm sorry but you're not going to make the team you know and you know what do you want to do with the rest of your life and and some guys tell you right well you I'm gonna make you I'm gonna make you regret cutting me you know and I said well good I hope so I hope this helps you going forward um and then some guys going really coach I said yes you know I'm not sure if this game's for you and just saying those things sometimes it's really hard people right I mean you know me Tomy I'm a little bit of a push uper so you know I hate doing it I really do um and sometimes I I I mean especially if it's a young man that I I really thought had the opportunity the chance and and and barely misses it you know and again that goes back to the Jer Jeremy Reed story because the first time you know I I brought Jeremy in and had to cut him brought him back to practice squad I promised him one thing I said look you were so close to making this team and if the opportunity ever comes to bring you up and put you on the full roster because we had them on practice squad I will and I did that and I kept my promise and sure enough you know he earned the right we brought him up he played for us played well enough for us to help us win a division uh my first year in Washington so there some some stories are those that you just really want people to know about and that's one vizzy heart Seltzer flavors for every Vibe celebrate Bears QB responsibly molon Kors Beverage Company Milwaukee Wisconsin in terms of you being on TV eventually here this season you're going to have to analyze the Chicago Bears a time or two so you've had experience with a number one overall pick at quarterback as a rookie in Cam Newton and you guys Rose to a Super Bowl appearance in a few years after that Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears uh have have have things in your opinion evolved and how you get a quarterback with that first round pick let alone first overall pick ramped up or is it still a tough road for every young QB it's always a tough road for every young QB and and and and to me you know as I looked at the Bears um and what they did this offseason there's some really good things that they've done and I do mean that I I think the first thing that you got to do though is you got to go back to when they first got Justin fields and to me some of the stuff that that they were doing offensively didn't suit the young man's talent and ability and I think that's something that they've learned and so to me from what I've heard and I really haven't had the chance to watch them in person is they're doing a lot more on offense that suits what Caleb did does well when we drafted Cam Newton was one of the first things and and and kudos to Rob chinski and and Mike schula they went down to Auburn they met with the Auburn coaches they talked about the things that cam did really really well things that he struggled with and those were the things that we worked on we worked on the things that he did well we worked on improving the things that he struggle with and again kudos to to to our offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach willingness to do those things to find out what to do to me it looks like and again just from afar that they've done those things that they needed to do and that's what does he do best let's Implement those things what does he do well let's correct those things the second thing that I've seen them do that very similar what we did was we made sure we could protect the quarterback and we had Playmakers around it well they've went out and signed some Playmakers in free agency drafted a a playmaker um then they turn around and bring in some off offensive Lin running attack has always been there I've always thought that's one thing that really offset what they did offensively they still run the ball well um that to me gives them every opportunity on the defensive side just knowing that you know the head coach is calling the defenses I know Eric Washington's there and I think Eric Washington is gonna be tremendous for that defensive line be and he's gonna be very good for for one of the best players in the league in montz sweat I think he's going to help Elevate montes's game I think this is something that um is going to help take this team to another I mean I expect them to be right in the thick of things I really do um and just from watching what they've done kudos to them because again going out and finding the guys that can help you take this team to the next level um is important um but they've done the things that I think you need to do H as far as you draft a rookie quarterback you've got to protect him and have Playmakers around him and then you've got to do the things that he does and he does well when you have a player like montz sweat from the Buddy Ryan in you is it more Montez Sweat important to have a three technique defensive tackle or an opposite side of the line defensive end well I know this when we had him at uh in in in in uh Washington the thing that he always did well he worked very well with the three technique next to him and so his interaction with those guys really created some really good tremendous things for us but then when he was on the opposite side and he came around around the horn and he may do a fly by okay you know get Washed by the quarterback but the quarterback had to step up into the three technique on the opposite side so again Tommy to me it's just you know it just you need a guy with that kind of ability that kind of talent you really do and I thought they got better defensively because of what he did and how he elevated the guys around him and I I do mean that you know and and that was you know one of the things that you know we did um you know when I was there was you know it was the idea was you know if you if you're not going to resign the guy you had to get value as what they wanted to do and I understood that and and so that's you know how it came about that he got traded to Chicago Ron Rivera uh with uh DJ Moore a touchstone of two of the most important players on the Bears and DJ Moore who you coached in 2018 you know how about that I tell you what that I tell you right now that that is one you know he's he's he he's always been a sleeper okay he really has always he's people know about but they really don't know about and I thought last year he really came on to the scene and I thought right off the bat he was one of the best tools and weapons for Justin from the very beginning when he got there um I'm tell you right he was one of my favorite players to have around um because I first of all I love his attitude okay he loves the game loves everything about the game and and people may not think it but whenever he made a mistake he took a really hard he really did and and you love that you love that on a young player that man I I'm you know I'm sorry I did that sorry well hey you'll be all right hang in there keep working you know and he does and so I always thought that was that was a great trade for the Bears and and I always knew that some point he's gonna really become the player a lot of people believe he can be so I'm very happy for DJ as a defensive coordinator when you've got Keenan Allen one of the best route runners in the NFL you've got romad dun ariser and yes he's going to have a rookie acclamation also you've got DJ Moore you know you can count on him you got Cole KT you got Gerald Evert you got DeAndre Swift you got Roshan Johnson in the backfield you're going to run the ball and you got a number one overall quarterback as a defensive coach somebody always going to be open yes but but see you got to decide who you think is going to hurt you the least okay because if you sit there and say oh we got to take this guy away well what about those other guys what we've got to do is we got to force them to keep the ball in front of us keep the ball underneath us give us an opportunity to get downhill and play those are the kind of things that you have to you have to think about as a coordinator secondly it's a Young quarterback you're gonna have to try and confuse him you're gonna have to try and keep him on his toes okay because as soon as he gets comfortable okay you're going to see his ability come out and one thing I'm gonna tell you too that a lot of these young quarterbacks today the biggest thing that coordinators talk about is their Mobility okay can this guy extend a play and does he have enough creativity to make play I mean that's what you're seeing from from you know from Patrick Mahomes that has made him such a special guy and when you can take it and you can make that play last a little bit longer to give that guy a little bit more time to create a little bit more space that's where you have to be truly careful as a coordinator all right our final moments with Ron Rivera so kind to be with us we're brought to you by PN official Bank George Hallis Award of the Bears good stuff we can't wait to see what's ahead for you as well but I got to talk more a couple things about you we always got to ask you how you feeling uh the George Hallis Award winner in 2022 awarded by the Pro Football writers of America that's for a player coach or staff member in the league who overcomes the most adversity to succeed you had a cancer diagnosis in August of 2020 you missed all three practices for your team you went out there it was Rivera strong I know you were clear to cancer uh a couple years ago or a year ago how you feeling and what did that honor mean given that you were drafted by the Bears a year after George halis passed away but that that award and what it signifies and symbolizes also for you well you know first of all my health has been been pretty good it really has um you know I I did my three-year checkup so far things are still going in the direction they need to be so I'm I'm very very fortunate now um I think the the the winning the award really did mean a lot just because of the fact that it was named after George how and and and it embodies you know the ability to go out and and and withstand and and work your way through some some tough times but and I'll be honest it's something I just didn't win by myself I had a whole team of people around me you know one of the things that I was very fortunate was you know being part of a football team you have people there that are always on call to help you and help push you and and protect you and and and be aware of of what you need to go through from my strength conditioning coaches our our our our nutrition is or you know we have we have a a full kitchen there so I was always eating properly um and the trainers were tremendous my head trainer Ryan Vermillion was was was unbelievable and uh Team doctor was was great but the biggest thing I had more than anything else was my two my two primary caregivers were my wife and my daughter Stephanie and Courtney were there for me throughout the entire time and helped get me through it so um I was very fortunate very blessed to get through it though thank you yes I always have to Roberto Clemente make that a a topic for sure making sure you're good to go and lastly I one of my favorite baseball players of all time and I guess you and I never talked about this but I I noticed this your idol was Roberto Clemente who was taken too soon from us as one of the greatest uh players in in baseball history cover so much ground in the Outfield and what a great hitter why him uh and then just the honor of being one of the few Latino head coaches in NFL history and you did it twice first of all you know first of all growing up in the time that I did you know Berto was all the r he was one of the best right fielders in the game tremendous arm and and and all the other skills like you mentioned um but also being of Puerto Rican descent um you know uh that that he is an iconic man and he's he's he stood for so much uh he did so much in the community the way he impacted the community and I think that's kind of where you know I think I'm a little bit community- minded just knowing that here's a man who is you know who who passed away because people were stealing from from the the nicaraguans that were going through this terrible earthquake and so he wanted to personally fly with the planes that were bringing the the relief supplies and unfortunately the plane that he was on had some some engine issues and and unfortunately crashed and he was killed so that story I think is one of the things that helped Elevate me helped motivate me um and inspired me to go forward and and I think that's really why um I I I I I love Roberto Clemen and who he was and what he represented for me right last question for me because it goes back to your the issues that you Can you coach toughness had um with your health and everything can you coach toughness or do you either have it or you don't I think I think you can you can reveal it whether a player has or has it doesn't have it um as a coach so to a degree yeah maybe you can coach it but I I think there's different kinds of tough some guys are mentally tough some guys are physically tough um and some guys have them both uh you know and that's who steveen MC Michel was that that guy has has both he's mentally tough he's physically tough he's the kind of guy that you know you sit there as as a coach and say I want players with that type of characteristics I want guys that have that kind of ability to push through something physically where he has that kind of mental toughness to push himself and push his teammates to Greatness um that's I think is it but can you coach it I think you can reveal it more than you can do anything else and and that's what we try to do as coaches is is help guys find out that they are a lot tougher than they realize great stuff Ron Excell always classy always uh always great to hear you and uh I always reveal your famous quote to me I call it famous because Liars figure and figures lie so don't be caught up in the statistic but we're caught up uh in your future man we we appreciate it and hope you have a great time on one thing real quick one thing real quick now you brought up you you brought an conversation we've always had Tommy I know you probably feel the same well I do you know we get caught up in this analytics thing that's everybody's talk about yes but the one thing you cannot measure on analytics is heart okay the emotions of the game sometimes there is something called momentum and if you discount that it will come back and get you I believe that and um and and I got that from from obviously you know my time as a player my time as a coach early in my career but I got it listening to John mad and that was one of the things that I will never forget so hey just remember figures Li and Liars fig that's right great way to end it 10 times a year I I do I say it all the time Ron I'll never forget it taste like Miller time celebrate responsibly middle Brewing Company Milwaukee Wisconsin 96 calories 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces special thanks a former Chicago Bear and assistant coach and defensive coordinator and two-time NFL coach of the Year Ron Rivera and for Tom there I'm Jeff jonc thanks for listening to everyone please subscribe now on the Chicago Bears official app Apple Spotify YouTube or wherever you get your podcast bear down every buddy [Music]