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Many Bears, et Cetera brought to you by Miller Lighte with the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
More bricks being laid on the road of the twenty twenty fourth season, the one hundred and fifth in Chicago Bears history. With the start of Rookie Minicamp later this week, and we welcome into episode sixty seven of the Bears et Cetera Podcast.
Jeff Joniac here with Super Bowl winning Bears.
Guard Tom Thayer, a broadcast partner and our special guest this week, who had a memorable rookie season for the Bears back in nineteen ninety, the sixth overall pick from USC, the NFL defensive rookie of the Year, a three time Pro Bowler, Mark Carrier aka the Hammer. The Hammer. You know, we're old school football here, so we love the big hits and you delivered plenty and you know, tell us the story of the Hammer though, where that came from.
Well, it's funny because you know this generation and then my kids who are My son is twenty eight, my daughter's twenty six, they have no clue about this. But it's funny. You know, people my football life people know me as Hammer. Everybody else outside of that know me as as Mark. And my college life everybody know me as aircraft carrier. So it's funny how we all have a different world. But how Hammer came about, you know, at the time, people have to understand m. C. Hammer
was really big at the time in early ninees. He was big, you know, was blown up in the nineties. But how I got the name is in practice and then sometimes in games, mostly in games, I would hit Chico Ron Rivere a couple of times the signatory.
I just nigged him in.
The back friendly fire, friendly.
Fire, and uh. And I remember Chico one time telling me Mark, I you hit me one more time, I'm gonna kick your ass on the field. So and so so the person who actually really named me gave me that name was U was Ron Rivera Chico. He named me hammer because I was hammering those guys in the back of times it was empty hammer was big at that time.
So that's when I ran with that theory.
You know, Mark, I was, you know, just kind of reminiscent about your career and thinking back about when you came aboard, how you're drafted from USC. But then I also saw a video of you and the first highlight they showed of you was launching into a tackle, and so it made me think immediately, Okay, the funds that you would have had to supply the league for some
of the hits that you had oh and fifty. Yeah, but you know what, what, because you're so still involved in the sport and the way that the game of the safety have to morph into a more legalized hitting, do you think they're kind of making the tackling target too difficult for the safety position?
Well, yeah, well for anyone really, it's just so hard Tommy and Jeff. Is that because they and I get it why they're doing it. We all understand safety. Safety is always going to be a big part of it, not just for the not just for the person you're hitting,
but also for the players hitting. But what happens is you don't take an account what the other player, the one you're going to tackle, what he might do, meaning how he might react as far as dunkling not ducking going hot when those split second situations happened, I might have a target on you right around your belly button, but if you react and turn a certain way, I might nail you in the side of the head depending on how you react.
So you know, Mark and it kind of will I'll eventually lead into Caleb Williams.
However, would you think of the school that you came from.
You think of some of the guys that played the position before you, guys like Ronnie Lott and stuff. When you play a position at USC that has Hall of Famers and some of the best that ever played the position like that, do you have to carry that on to your USC career and then carry that out of
your NFL career. Because I'm so familiar with the rivalry between Notre Dame and USC, and I know a lot of the great names that have come out of USC, But when you think about the position success that's come out of at USC, the safety position is.
One of them.
Yeah, I mean we talked about the SC greats. Tim McDonald, Ronnie Dennis Smith. Both those guys should be in a Hall of Fame, and I think obviously Troy Paul malve isn't a Hall of Fame. Dennis Thurman another one who set the standards. My big thing initially when I went to USC, Tom and Jeff was I just wanted to be I wanted those guys to come and when they saw me, I felt good about my play and that I was owning up holding up my of the legacy and the defensive backs. That's all I wanted. I just
want to be included in their name. You know, the best is always subjective. In my mind, Ronnie Lott's one of the best football players ever played in college or pro. But I just wanted to make sure when I played and I represented the USC that those guys felt really
good about my play and how I did. Now the flipside of that, as you take that to the NFL, as we came after ninety three and the CBA start changing and they start putting more emphasis on safetyes the rules of safety in the game, and you're going out flying around hidding people, especially leading with your helmet. That became a final offense. And you mentioned earlier it talked about target and I'm all four and I coached an NFL for ten years, so I had to teach guys
how to hit proper ways of hitting the target. And you you know, you always have to lower your target. But if you're going again to part that, the NFL doesn't take it, because I don't think taken consideration. Is is that I'm going at you, Tom, and I'm aiming at your belt buckle, your belly button, and I'm going and all of a sudden you see me and you embrace a turn or something and drop your body, drop your head or something, and all of a sudden we
hit helmets. I can't control that. That that that was an instinctive of reaction. That wasn't my target. There's one thing about believe I mean, and they've gotten better and you and I've had it where I've left my feet, go airborne and trying to just knock the guy out. But the difference of now where you're trying to target
and bring your target down low. You do that, but sometimes you can't control with the other player and how it reacts and then you're not And when that happens, I think when they study it back in New York. They have to be a little bit more cautious of Okay, how did this happen? Did he leave his bed?
He was he going.
Projecting out to don't take a guy, try to hit a guy in his face? Or was he least trying to aim the right way? And the reaction of the player maybe cast some of that.
Mark carry our guest here on the Bears et Cetera podcast. This episode of Bears et Cetera, it brought to you by Miller Lite Tastes like Miller Time, Celebrate Responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories and three point two carbs per twelve ounces. The Bears picking you at number six, and at that time it was okay to pick safeties in the top ten.
Nobody was wigging out, right, nobody.
Was wigging out. But and so you were one of them. H what's that I made?
The trends started going downward after that.
Yeah, it sure did. Caden Bodok out of us. He picked in the third round this year by the Houston Texans. When you got to the Bears, they then decided, okay, we're going to part company with a four time pro bowler, Dave do it, the late Dave Doors, and so he went on to the Giants to make room essentially for you and put Sean Gale down to strong sae. So, as a rookie, what did that do for your pressure?
Because you're on a veteran team, they're looking at you to be the last line of defense with a great pass rush, and here you take the ball away ten times.
Well, first, let's you know, I have to pay respect to to double d Dave Dorrison because even when I came in, one of the first people to really reach out and help me get acclimated to the NFL was was Dave Dorson. I mean Dave, and he knew the business, knew what was going on, but that didn't stop him from really helping me try to get acclimated, help me
learn the defense, learn the NFL ways. I owe him, you know a lot, and he you know, he kind of knew what was going on, but I didn't stop him from really helping me get get get assimilated to NFL lifestyle. Go figure a nore name guy helping the guy who I thought. But if my old Dave, you know a lot for that, I have nothing but positive, uh, respect and admiration for Dave, but what he did for
me for my career. But coming into the Bears and Tom was part of that team, it was still a lot of those eighty five team that still hovers even today in Chicago, hovers big on the loom, loom large in the city and rightfully so. It was it before their time. The characters that they had and how they went about doing you know what they did and knew what you were going to do.
Uh. And to come in.
There and and and replace a positive a popular player that was that was tough. They didn't and they they they got after. They got after me pretty good at times, and not because they didn't like me. Is that what I've learned at the time, And I tell this to players when I get a chance to mentor him. They weren't harsh on me, especially in training camp early, because they didn't like me. They just didn't know me and
they didn't trust me. Yet they had to. I had to established a trust with those guys, with the veteran guys, with the Hampton It's a singletary Richard Dentz, Big Michaels, those Ronald, those guys, Sean Giellismith. Those guys didn't know they could trust me yet. They didn't know. I mean, in case point one time. Tommy probably won't remember this. It's late October or something, early late October. We're going
out for a walk through. And I got all I got my footage, sweatshirt, I got all sweatshirts, float pants, I got everything on. You know, it's only what maybe sixty sixty high degrees or something for a California guy, but like thirty five and I'm going out to the field with all that gear on, just for a walk through.
And these guys are looking at me, waiting as me and Tom knows that. You know, Jeff, that old facility was.
You walk up a hill a ramp to the field and ever sitting there looking at me, and they're like, what the hell are you doing?
I said, what do you mean? I'm going for the walkthrough? What the hell you got all that? Take that?
Go back in that uh and go take that crap off. You're not walking out here with that on. I don't like to screw you guys. I'm going out here because I need to. I want to go to walk through. You can't tell me what to wear. Hey, and finally hey, either you take it off, We're going to take it off. I know, I got smart. I went to and I was I was somewhat mad, went through practice, but Mike
Singletary came over to me afterwards. Mike afterwards and put his arm you know, and say, young man, as he called me, young man, do you understand what they were doing? I said, Mike, they were trying to test me. They're trying to pump me. They try to see the Bible, you know, just try to see. They just want to pump me. Said no, it wasn't nothing had to do with had nothing to do with that. They were worried that they see you coming out in sixty degree whether dressed,
trying to stay warm. They're worried that when we go to Green Bay in December and it's thirty below, you're not gonna be Are you gonna be worried about staying warm or be worried about doing your job. They want to know you can that they can trust you. Because I was called me and Mike gave the signals. They want to be able to trust you, to know that in certain situations that you're gonna be they can trust you.
To do your job.
If you can't do that, they don't want to play with So that was kind of a lack of lesson for me for football establishing trust. They wanted to know they can trust me when it counted on the road, in tough situations.
You know, Mark, when mini camp starts, it's I don't know if you guys even had a rookie mini camp, did you guys? Yeah, So what advice would you give this group? This selection of five and a lot of undrafted free agents and a lot of try out guys.
They're going to try to make the roster.
This is their first introduction to the playbook and how things will go when the veterans get going in OTAs and on the mini camp. Just the acclamation period. Some coaches have decided to say, hey, you're just gonna have here for one day. Here's the acclamation go back. We're going to go OTAs with the vets. Do you think there's benefits for guys like Caleb Williams, Roma Dunze, Karan Amidaji all these guys that are coming in this week.
Well for the opposite for the quarterback, I mean, this is your guy. You need to get him as with your veteran guys as soon as possible, because he's you've already established this is our guy going forward. They've done a great job Ryan Bulls and the group in Cunning Heaven, who I know, well, I've done a great job of assimilating a really good positive group around of this young quarterback. So you've got to get him going with those guys as soon as possible. So you've got to get him going.
They didn't go through his lumps and bumps him justin. And the biggest thing, and I'm sure I'm curious that Tom felt the same thing, is the speed of the game. Understanding the speed of the game. It's one thing you're hit gonna be spinning no matter what because you're getting to new targeting, new language. But the speed of the game is so much more mentally faster than just physically
faster that you have to get that. You've got it quicker you get I remember leaving mini camp after our mini camp, going home, you know, upset, telling my mom, I don't like to do this. Everybody, Tom, Tom Waddles of the worlds were moving faster than me. Go figure that at that time, because you were trying to process things. You know, I'm trying to process things, but it's process
so much faster. The physical will come. It's that processing the mental part of the game so much quicker and adjustments on the fly is you you You can't duplicate that. You just got to get thrown into the fire and then work to figure it out and just take take a step at a time. Take a step at a time. Learn from the aventuroom. Guys ask questions because that's the best you're going to do. Because they know you're going to be our guy. You need to know they can
be that they can count on you. That you want to get You wanted to learn, you want to get better.
You know, Mark, the first time I rented the line of scrimmage in nine on seven up in Plattel and the singletary and the whole crew were standing in front of me, McMichael hamp Richard, and they called the offensive play and I the speed at which I saw those guys move, I kind of thought to myself, I don't know if I'm capable of this. But then a thousand reps later, then you start figuring out, okay, I can do this.
This is what I got to do. This is where I got to be and all that.
So just from play one to play one hundred to play one thousand, your whole mindset changes, and I think that really affects the value of where you're giving your
self confidence and where you can go. But there's one thing I wanted to ask you about Caleb, because you talked about all the great safeties that have been at USC and kind of the pressure of the position, the pageantry of USC football, And I've been there in some big games in the coliseum and you see the movie stars standing on the sidelines, you see the cheerleaders, you
just see the effects of USC football. You think in the modern day football, something like that and the success that Caleb has have has had, it'll help him acclimate to the outside of the responsibilities of the on field stuff because of what you've already been exposed to in the star studded part of USC football.
Yeah, I think from a social standpoint, this kid is because he's been in that spotlight comedy since he was in you know, high school, going to Gonzaga outside of DC and going to Oklahoma. I mean he played in the top pick, a five star pick, a recruit played at Oklahoma, which has a great tradition. Then he goes to USC which is that and only does have a tradition. He has a social tradition that you talked about, and then come to Chicago. I don't think that part is
going to that's going to be such a bomberser. He I mean, he just when you see him doing different things, like you saw him at the Cups game the other day, and he's okay in that scenario, he's so far knock on wood. He's able to deal with that. Now. What he's going to have to see, as we all playing for the Bears, is when there's when you get in and everybody loves you, and then you go through. You
don't have success right away and love. The beauty of our fans and the Bears fans is that they're passionate about the team. They're going to be there good, bad, or whatever, and they're going to express theirselves whether you're doing good or whether you're doing bad. Just be able to you know, understand you're going to get that, but block that out, not take it so personal, and just stay focused on the job a head of being trying to be successful within your teammate. I think from the
social standboard, I think he'll be fined. It's just him being playing for an NFL team and dealing with the social you know, that society that comes with it playing for the Bears and being a quarterback. Just be able to handle that. I think once he's able to deal with that and stay focused on being you know, just hey, worry about winning, worry about your teammates. That other part will take care of yourself. That I think you'll be okay.
Mark, carry our guest here on Bears et cetera podcast or brought you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears and game day snacking calls for good foods. Chunky guacamaldi made with has avocados, tomatoes, onion, cidantro and a squeeze of lime juice. It's the perfect snack to watch Why the Bears win. Score some today at your local grocery store. Game Day is guak Day. He's number seventy two on the Bears one hundred list is put together by Don Pearson and Dan Pompei. Twelve spots ahead of Tom Fair.
But wait a minute, one spot behind butt Head? How old? How did you get behind it? Kicker?
I didn't even notice that one. Tom, tell him, tell them what you always say when you're going. It's brought up the year on the on the Bears one hundred list ahead of.
Jay Cutler, one ahead of Jay Cutler.
But I'm one behind Kevin. But head there's a difference.
Yeah, there is definitely definitely a difference.
I mean that means and I'm thirteen, right, we didn't look at it that way.
I feel better already.
Now, Oh my gosh, how much did you watch Caleb? How much did you watch pac twelve football? Did you watch any roma doonsay? And as a safety? CN that guy big and strong and a fifty to fifty ball catcher with speed, joining Keenan Allen and DJ Moore and Cole Commett and Gerald Everett and DeAndre Swift and Khalil Herbert. I mean, everybody's all the analysts are saying, this is the most ideal situation for a rookie quarterback and for that matter, a rookie receiver to make an instant impact.
You couldn't get any better scenario, correct.
I mean, they've done a great job of building a team. I mean the new NFL these days is you want to be successful early. You have to take a chance on a young quarterback, but you better have the pieces around him while he's on his rookie deal, so you can go out and pay and get the pieces needed to.
Be success.
I kind of think about coverage and the way the defensive coordinators inside the division are thinking. So the Bears break the huddle and they got Cole comment at the line of scrimmage and they got rom Keenan and DJ out as a safety. Are you covering? Are you covering Cole or are you playing deep?
Well?
A lot has to depend on you know what, what do you have? What do you have upfront? I mean, the game is so much different now, Tommy, as you know, it's so much more spread out. There's so much more rules to allow offenses to.
To be able to take advantage of what the defense.
And one thing everybody talked about, like against Brady and Peyton Manning and guys like that, is that they knew the defense as what as they knew as you did, almost because they knew where you're in maner's own and how you rotating to. They understood where the weak spots are the defense. And I'm a big proponent. I was very fortunate to learn under try and boat Buddy's son and defenses. And I'm a big proponent. Hey, all right, we're going to go in this game. What are we
taking away? Well, we're going to make sure we take away to run. To make sure we take it away to run, but they can't do that, And then who and who do we need to make sure we don't get beat over top? But do that and then you just got to rally and make adjustments as the game go. As part of the game on Sunday, it's always about adjustments. But you can't just worry about who you are. You double ta dj more, you double the team and allen or comment or something.
You got to figure out that.
Okay, we've got to do this, stop this run, make sure the receivers don't get on top of us, and just see if we can make it. Just grind it out patiently and make let them if they're comfortable enough and pishing up and mark their way down the field and see you and then play get red zonet a red zone defense and see what.
We could do.
But if you just hone in on one person, one thing with that with the way they're off to set up you know, you'll you'll get your head spinning. You're playing you were playing like your terminology, play like you're trying to play down here or playing uphill u you catching on your heels all the time. So you just got to be solid. You gotta hope you've got a good personnel. They get pressure on the quarterback, and uh stop the run and then make sure you keep everything in front of you.
Now you're coach Mark Carrier, but you're on the offensive side of the ball. What are the first you know, five things that you're gonna get Caleb acclimated to so he can expedite this learning process.
Oh that's now, that's a that's a that's a good question, obviously, and it sounds med you, it sounds silly, but being able to get in and out of huddle kid, making sure you haven't received because I mean, just that alone saves you a lot of How many times have we seen over you guys have done a ton of games where you know, quarter coaches are calling coming out of a timeout, having to call another timeout, or coming off a dead ball, and you're you're not set, your office
ain't ready to go, and you got a burden time out so just that alone, just be able to control, get into huddle, let him know you it's your huddle, taken froll of the huddle. Don't be intimidated by these guys. You've got to be the man to make sure that's that one for me. But obviously as a you know, as a quarterback, as a safety, has got to be number one making sure and then the terminology making sure you understand, I'm calling Lincoln Riley right now and asking, Okay, what does he do well?
How does he do this?
You've got to make it as simple and easy for this kid to make sure for him going forward, and then as he learned, then you build the office from there. So I want to I want to get that, and I'm making sure throws. Matchups, everything's about matchups. Where with this offense, you've got it, like you talked about earlier, who do you who do you take away?
What are the matchups?
Where?
Where? Where's your outlet?
Understanding where your outlet is and knowing that, hey, you're gonna have someone deep, someone in front, someone over your tight end, someone over the ball, someone in the flat. You got outlets, don't nothing out there? You know, be afraid to drop it and take what you can get. Uh, and I want my running game, my tight end into my running game as I always going to be the quarterback. Best friends, so make sure you got the running.
Game outside the offensive lineman.
Yeah, sorry, yes, besides you, guys, Hildeburg van Horn important you guys, You guys.
I love you guys. You guys.
Don't be a loud way.
You guys used to let me work out, which you guys late in the year, late in the days, I thought, But yeah, I get my running game because my best friend's gonna, hey, take the pressure off that running game. And then the other thing with Caleb I want to do is, hey, don't be afraid. You're a good athlete. You move around. It's okay to keep your eyes. It eight there. You can start to scramble, but don't be afraid to take off and move and get party of
the yardists. Just don't take a side, don't force it. You don't have to to stay. Just we can get those few things going there. We'll have a good office. You've got a good personnel around you.
All right, you had ten interceptions as a rookie, and uh, did you think you're going to get ten interceptions the rest of your career like this was no big deal because you had the pass rush of of Hall of famers. As it turns out to be, you wound up with thirty two. That's a big number, but you know it stuns me. Like Paul Cross in the NFL at eighty one interceptions eighty one, Kevin Byn's got twenty eight. Our new free safety.
Yeah, at that time we're throwing. Wasn't a premium that wasn't.
Yeah, exactly, it was the run game.
It wasn't.
So you know what, I think I was the only one in the whole state of Illinois he realized that you're not going to get ten interceptions in your career. Everybody else thought because that it's funny and I'm curious to Tommy's thought of him as individual is that I tell people all the time, I played better, only had two interceptions.
My second year. I played better.
I grated out much better my second year than I did my first year, just because I had a better understanding of the defense. I knew things better when I did. I couldn't tell you when I'm old too, I've been hitting a head too. But after that rookie year, I couldn't tell you all lot of things that went on.
I didn't know.
I was just going on instinct and making sure I was where I needed to be. For my second year, I had a much more grafts of the defense. I knew anything. I saw things better. I was in better position, a lot more, I made less had I grated out, like I said, way better than I did my rookie year.
But I didn't have the interceptions. You know.
I ended up actually broke my wrists the second game of the season that year, So I played with a broken wrist the whole year and have surgery to end of January. But it's just that's just the reality. So you make adjustment. Part of the game is making adjustment. People make adjustments, people understand the defense. You as a player, you have to make adjustments.
It's kind of some of that stuff is spilled forward as well, because when you think of the amount of sacks that some of these teams have gotten back in the day when they had seven step drops and an offensive tackle had no security to the right, to the left, or behind him, and now everything shotgun, three step drop, RPO, get the ball out of your hand, And I think it's more difficult to get sacks nowadays than it was back in the day when athleticism at the quarterback position
wasn't a premium and some of those guys had no escapability. So, you know, it's that's one of the cool things about football. Mark from your you know, we never had a rookie mini camp, and then you go into coaching, and then you're coaching rookie mini camps, and then you come in with incredible expectations on you because you're the six player picked in the draft out of USC and they didn't bring you in to play special teams. They brought you into be a starter, you know, the first day you
got there. And so I do think that's kind of the unique things that we're fortunate they have played a long enough time and then we get to watch the way football has developed, whether it benefits a defensive back, benefits an offensive lineman, or you know some of the other analytics and stats that are a result because of it.
Well here's my thought talking about right, you know, the numbers aren't to say because the game has changed you so much, I think, and and I'm not being critical. I am being critical, but I'm not picking on I think offensive line play is deteriorated greatly over the years because everybody's always in a two point stands and they're just kicking kickbacking and you know, just get get good enough to the RPOs the balls out into this uh
his hands, and I think offensive linement. I think one of the biggest things that suffered greatly is in the offensive alignment because of this new RPO system, because they really don't have to do much run blocking when you put your hand in dirt and grind a guy out like I think the only one who's did that was Hardball and Michigan. Everybody else was still doing the RPOs
and everything. So I think if there's a group that's that's really hamper got hampered the most by the change of the offense, is that For me, it's been the offensive alignment telling.
Well, you know, Mark, I think of ten interceptions or a thousand yard rusher. To me, ten interception guy is more difficult nowadays than it is, even though there's a less of a premium on having a single running back. If you have a single running back thousand yards and that big of a benchmark with seventeen games, But even with seventeen games ten interceptions. I think it's it's difficult
to come by in these days. You had that kid from Dallas this year who you know, had six or eight interceptions, but still in seventeen games, wasn't reaching ten, especially how much they.
Throw the ball.
Yeah, yeah, and that's why the number, you know, ten, I think it's only happened since I played maybe twice.
Well, there was an eleven year period when no one did it after you. That's a pretty pretty significant over a decade. So yeah, it's hard. Diggs, you know, he's he's gotten there. Some others have, but yeah, it's it's a rare thing.
I think less than five times since it's just just doesn't happen, you know, seems to get smarter, they figure out why when I got photo over there, you.
Need tip balls.
I mean, there's just so big, Like Tom was saying earlier, the pass rush, it's back as it was before. You know, you're not taking seven step drops anymore. I mean, things are just the game changes. It just evolved, and I dropped like three of them met so I mean I remember more. It's like, damn, I brought three interceptions that year. People don't realize that.
Busy Heart celts or flavors for every vibe, Celebrate responsibly. Molson Cores Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And when it's time to tackle some game day deals, then go with the grocer who has been a part of Chicago since eighteen ninety nine, jewel Osco, the official grocery store of the Chicago Bears, are remaining moments with Mark Carrier kind enough to slice out a portion of his day, the associate athletic director at Loyota Academy out there and we'll met.
Are you still doing Sports USA?
Also?
Yeah, I end up doing. I still when I can, I still I end up doing. I did four games last year.
Okay, I want to say, as all the places I've been, I've been forcing to do a few games over the last four or five years with sports say, you guys have the best spread ever in any in any game every game I go to. When you guys invite me over, I come in here. I mean you guys got like spread.
Man, I was like, wow, you mean the morning crab legs and shrimp cocktail.
Yeah, eleven o'clock in the morning.
Yeah, we thank our sponsors for that for sure.
Yes, will make that point, Well, you never need an invitation.
First of all, you're a Bear alumni and you have you have king status, and there's always hot coffee and therefore, yeah, day, yeah.
Well I know there's I know there's crabs in there. I can get to you.
Hey, what what I really want to focus on because I know you know, when players retire, that's the biggest I think now being my agent, have met so many of you guys that have come through over the last almost three decades. The hardest part is what to do next? Yes, you want to, Yeah, take some time figure things out.
Maybe you planned for it, maybe you didn't. And it sounds to me that your investment to get into coaching afterwards, h when you saw the results of your labor a young man becoming something more than maybe he thought he would, and then transitioning out of the NFL coaching maze, which it is a maze and it's it's constant change, going to Loyal Academy to be a voice, be be something for these young kids before they even get to college.
Has this stirred your soul a little bit to give back?
Yeah?
Yeah, I mean I've always felt that that that that need to do leave him when I was playing, and then after I got through playing and coaching that a lot of people, you know, I come from a single current home and to older sisters, and a lot of people sacrifice for me to get where I got where I got to go to college and to the pros. And so it's just it's my obligation to do the same thing, and even here doing some mentoring these young
men and women here at Loyola. But I just love doing invite and I always telling them, I keep it on my door. I have a thing where I shows, you know, the percentage was the percentage of get into play in professional sports, playing professional football, how many people get drafted, how many actually make teams and those low
numbers and everything. And then I have another thing to show, you know, what you make with a high school degree, how much you make with a college degree, and a big difference there, and always planning, you know, knowing what I know now, obviously the NFL has done a better job of helping players prepare for the after life after football life, and knowing what I know now, things that I would have done differently. I would have probably done a much more internships and stuff like that, just to
get involved in athletic administration that I enjoy doing. Now I try to let these players know and these student athletes know that I don't. I was fortunate to play twelve years, coach ten years, but I've been now, I've been out of you know, Tommy, I'm curious. I mean, I was done with thirty three, thirty five, done with coaching before I was, you know, fifty. I mean I just turned fifty six. I mean, so, I don't care if you played, and I wish everybody the greatest career
in the world. Play as long as you can, but you're going to live life much more longer than you play your professional sports. So be sure to work on a plan going forward because you're gonna no matter what you're gonna play, you're going to be out of sports longer than you will play in it, even if you're fortunate to have the great, illustrious career. It's just that's just the reality. Richard d told me a long time ago. He said, Mark, we all have so many hits in
our bodies. We only have we have a number. Everybody has a number. Tommy has a number, I have a number. Everybody has a number. When that number is up, you're done, and you don't get them back. You know you don't you know, you don't know. If you don't play one year doesn't mean you get those numbers. We all have a number. When that number is up, you're done. Then you can do about it. So always be prepared. Some
have shorter numbers, something that long enumbers. You just don't know when that number is going to be up, But just prepare yourself for when that number is up.
If you play long enough, that number is evident and obvious. If you don't play long enough, you kind of leave something behind and.
You wish you had a little bit more.
And like Mark said, when my number was up, I knew it the flight of the football over the top of my head on kickoff return, and I said, I don't want to do this anymore, and there's no turning back. But I do think it's what you do to yourself and for yourself and your after life that is really going to dictate your fate because you put so much time and effort into getting to the point to be able to make that decision.
But there's still much.
More important decisions to be made when you go in the locker room take a uniform on it on the bus, and from that moment on, life is different.
Yeah, you want fulfillment, right mark, some somewhat of fulfillment. It's beyond yes, you want to you want to provide for your family. Obviously your family is important to you. You want to see your kids do well. But there's got to be some personal fulfillment for the man.
It took.
It took a year after I finally when I finally accepted I wasn't going to play anymore. It took a good year for me to finally get it out of my system, to say, okay, I need to do something. I think my wife came home one day and I was sitting at home watching soap oumpers, and she looked at it at a haze, and she looked at me and almost wanted to slap me. Kid a grip, What are you doing? Come on, let's go. It's time, you know,
to move on with your life and everything. So it's it takes when you've done something as long as we have for so long, and you know, so regimented and so routine for so many years, like anything else, it takes time to get that out of your system.
Well, Mark, we appreciate you taking the time, and we appreciate all the work you're doing for the kids up north at Loyola and just your lifetime commitment to a great game of professional football and beyond.
Oh, thank you, guys. I always appreciate you guys on chance to talk with you, guys. You guys do a great job.
I enjoy it, appreciate it.
We'll see you up at Hallis or at Soldier Field for an upcoming game this season. It's gonna be a wild one, that's for sure.
Definitely will be.
Yes, Mark carry our guest here on Bears, etcetera.
Thank you buddy, Thank you guys, Thank you Mark.
All right.
I always enjoyed Mark, love his perspective, and boy he did a lot of great things, but maybe doing the greatest thing now of helping these kids. I know you always appreciate high school coaches and administrators in the state of Illinois and the impact they make on young men. I saw something from Ennis Reichstrau, the cornerback from Missouri that was drafted, and he had written a letter in fourth grade to his teacher and he in the end he said, Hey, you know, can I have your phone number?
One to keep in touch the rest of my life. And he delivered on that promise to that teacher that made an impact him as a fourth grader, and he framed and put it on a plaque, the letter and presented it to the coach. So you just you know, hey, listen, we run into people every day. You try and help as many as you can, and you just never know the one that's going to resonate with somebody.
So Mark's doing some great stuff.
You know, you know, the adventure or the the kind of the path that Mark and I took. I knew Mark from USC because I went to Not Dame and then Mark got drafted in the first round in nineteen ninety when, as I was at the tail end of my career and he came in and had a ten interception year, rookie of the year, made an impact on the football team. At the we're kind of desperate to have draft choices be productive, and he did all that, had.
A great career.
So I think Mark is an example of hard work, dedication and what it can lead to. So, yeah, coaching in the NFL, but maybe that wasn't his calling. And you talk about having that sign on his door, and letting these high school kids read it. Maybe that's the most important message that he can, you know, put out there, because that's for all the kids to read. It's not
only for the athletes. Everybody that needs to read that and understand the importance of what they're trying to accomplish and what and how Mark's trying to help you.
Okay, rookie mintiicamp, what do you need to see? What do you want to see? What do you hope to see?
You know, it's the obvious.
The elephant in the room is you got to see the Caleb Williams, his athleticism, his foundation, his throwing accuracy, the way Mark said he leads people out of the huddle, how he gets his offensive players set up, and then Roma Dunza, you want to see what type of speed, what type of maneuverability, what type of route.
Running he puts on display.
And then I want to see what Shane Waldron offers to the all the offensive players that are out there,
guys that are scratched the surface of opportunity. The way Shane Waldron kind of incorporates the newly brought aboard Caleb Williams into this offense and get him to understand the terminology as well as he can to get ready to go into OTA's And then on the defensive side of the ball, you want to see is there a player out there may be an Austin Booker that's going to be able to take the next step to be incorporated
in the defensive personnel as quickly as possible. Because when you talk about offense, you talk about five offensive linemen, you want to play the whole game. You talk about a quarterback, you want to play the whole game. The receivers, the running backs, tight ends, they they're kind of interchangeable. And the defensive side of the ball, it's a rotating uh, it's it's a rotating segment of the football team. Outside the two cornerbacks and the two safeties.
You bring in a nickelback with the linebacker. That's interchangeable.
So you want to see the development of young personnel that Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham and the staff have brought a board to say, Okay, I think my initial reaction to a rookie mini camp does this guy stand a chance?
Is he coachable?
Or maybe should we set our sites on a different position group or a different person.
Yeah, I was thinking Booker to the obvious, as you say, is Caleb Romadunze want to see them hit the ground running, but Austin Booker could because what will he be able to offer you in year one as a fifth round pick. Yeah, he is young and he is raw, but he is talented, So that would be a huge boost.
Immediately out of the gate.
And I'm sure they're going to evaluate that even in a mini camp situation where there's no pads and no major contact or anything, just to see what the Bears defensive coaches can do with him already, what his technique is, can it be sharpened immediately and maybe you have less of a concern of going to get another veteran pass rusher out there.
Here. I want to hear Eric Washington. I want to hear Shane Waldron.
I want to hear their coaching tactics when they're out there trying to encourage some of these young guys initially some from the first practice. I want to see the athleticism of Amagaji. Is he does he have the athleticism in this length that we talk about to play offensive tackle or is he like the guy that was drafted from Northwestern last year that I ended up playing offensive guard at Tennessee.
Skronsky.
Yeah, Peter, Okay, that is that the position he's bet fit for.
So I think when you bring in an offensive.
Lineman, you really got to look at him and you gotta look at his balance, You got to look at his footwork, you got to look at.
His hand placement.
You got to make sure that he's understanding in the information as well as a quarterback, and so there's a lot of little details you got to look at as well.
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Big week ahead for the Bears.
Schedule release may or may not be this week, could be next week.
You know, it depends on what you hear.
But I know, I know, I we all want it as for sure, we know who we're playing. We just want to know when I think the everybody's alluded to the fact that with Caleb here and the Bears being a better team on paper at the moment, we'll see a lot more primetime games and late starts, so we're gonna get ready for that for twenty twenty four and we welcome that certainly. And then we got Bears Care on Saturday Night over at Soldier Field, the annual fundraiser.
That's always a good time and a good source of getting people together.
For a good cause.
So all that ahead as we inch towards the season, that's gonna do it for us. Special thanks to former Bears safety Mark Carrier for Tom There, I'm Jeff Jonihak. Thanks for listening everyone, Please subscribe now. I'm the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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