Coaches Show: Pace previews 2019 season

I know your time is valuable too, but that's a nice, nice move, you know, a nice move. I think one of my jobs this time of year is to eliminate distractions, and I feel like I'm doing that for the coaches tonight. Yeah, no question about it. And with a short week and so much building into this game. I love how Matt is putting this in context this particular game, because it's very easy to say, oh my god, it's the Bears Packers week, one year open or one hundred, but you

can't do that. And the evidence was found in last year's game at Green Bay. Same story. You know, it's a brand new coaching staff. You know, you want to make it a good first impression, but it's such a long season. Not to diminish the impact of a home game in the division. Those are important, but you got to put everything in the right context. I think you're right, Jeff.

I think I think he's done a good job of kind of striking that balance of, you know, respecting the rivalry to historic franchises, everything that goes with that, but also understanding, hey, it's the first game of the season, all right. So many times I've heard you and we've spoke a lot this year because of the one hundred and all the different events and so forth. But you and Matt both sought to try and keep that momentum going. Don't let the missfield goal and in the Philadelphia game

ruin what was built. And so do you feel that you've accomplished that keeping the momentum going from the time that happened where we're at right now. I do, And that's been a focus of ours. And I think you can go to you know, start with staff hires, you know, Chuck Pagano and a lot of the defensive hires, and carry that right the free agency. In the movies, we made into the draft, into the off season program, into training camp, and in the preseason, and we do feel

like the momentum is going. And like I said today, there's there's a good vibe in the building right now, and I think it's a it's a good blend between excitement and focus. Yeah, I tell you what, You've been out in the city a little bit too, you know, and your downtime which is not that much, but you feel the vibe too in a city. Yeah, you know, I think you know, our fans have been waiting for this for a long time and they deserve a winning team. And you know, we got a lot of young guys.

You know, we got a good culture, and we got a lot of momentum behind us. I mean, we haven't really done anything yet, but I think, like I said, the vibe is good in our building. Yeah, we're gonna touch on all those other intangibles, you know, including the culture and what you guys have done with the roster and shaping that roster. I think the cut was probably going to be the most difficult one you've ever had

in your years as a general manager. But m and you got a bunch of guys back on the practice squad. So even those guys you never know, you know, those guys get rotated and at some points during the season, and those are valuable guys right there. So do you feel that despite the fact you had to make these cuts, you still manage to collect the guys you really really

want it? Yeah, it's it's kind of an emotional weekend when you go through those cuts and you know that there's a lot of players you're talking to, and then you get past that stage, and then there's the twenty four hour period where you're really holding your breath, you know, hoping these guys clear to your practice squad. And we feel good about the way it all transpired, and uh,

you know, we feel strong about our practice squad. And again I think you know, as we've built the depth and the talent of the team, Jeff, the cuts become harder. I feel like our practice squad becomes more talented and they all push each other. That competition is important and heavy at certain positions on the roster. But you've been talking about this too. You're going to take the best fifty three. Yeah, we really are. And I think one position that applies to is the inside linebackers. We kept

six inside linebackers. That is a little heavy. Normally you keep you know, around four, But you think about the talent there. You think about the special teams contribution coming from that position, and that's an area we said, hey, let's keep the best players. Yeah, linebackers that can run like a Josh Woods. The grin on his face is unbelievable in the locker room. I mean, this is a guy who loves the game. Yeah, you think about you know, his history is safety in Maryland. He came here on

a rookie mini camp tryout. We didn't sign him. We've invited him back for the second mini camp and we signed him off of that and he's put on weight and maintain his speed, transformed a linebacker very well. And I think when I look at that group as a whole, from number one and number six, day all can run. You said it, And I think that's something we've improved a lot over the years. Is team speed, which really helps us on defense and really helps us on special teams.

You know, speed kills there's no play. You can never have too much speed. And as much as you've done with this roster, and I think there's forty eight forty eight players that you've brought in. So this is your team now, like there are four guys you know what I'm saying. I mean in terms of what you're looking for,

and then you throw on the practice squad guys. But the journey is so I mean, can you even think about the moment you got here and where you're sitting at right now five years later, How how long and how tedious it is to get You can win or

lose along the way. That's irrelevant to what you're looking for that you know in your heart, our hearts, the intangibles, the mindset, all those traits that you guys seek and players will beyond their their physical abilities to finally be there, you know, in terms of what you're really looking for. How does that make you feel a general manager? And

what your staff has helped you put together? Yeah, Jeff, I think you know, it takes a long time to to you know, to get it, to get it going, and I think it's a credit to a lot of people in our building and a lot of hard work throughout our building and the entire scouting staffs, you know, starting with Josh Lucas Cham Kelly, Mark Sadowski, Jeff King Pro Scouts, College Scouts, UM. And it's been a it's been a build over a lot of years, and but

we're not there yet. You know, we know that we're always trying to improve our roster, always fine tune and always tweaking. But you've said it that it's not just the talent, it's the type of people we have in the culture we have and on our roster and with our staff, and you can feel it throughout the building.

And I think now it's to the point we're you know, we there's a standard you know, in our scouts, knowing when we're in the draft room and we're talking about players were acquiring, there's a standard that we've set and we don't want to deviate from that. Now. One of the poster boys for that poster men because he's a man, is Cody Cody white Hair, and yeah, you know, after a media got through the interview with him yesterday, I

walked over there. He literally lifted me off the ground game of this huge bear hug, showing this rare emotion you know in terms of that interaction, Uh, just thrilled beyond it, but the whole locker room was thrilled. For him. Now, those are one of those rare moments, right. That's what I love seeing was the team's response to that, because you can tell how well liked he is in the locker room, and he's a great player, but he's I mean, you talk about captain's class and a lot of those

traits we talk about. He is unselfish team player, uh, water carrier behind the scene what I mean. He's not afraid to do the dirty work that nobody notices behind the scenes, and he's a glue guy for our team and we couldn't be happier for him and his wife. They're expecting a baby on the way, and it's just a it's a special time in his life, a special time for our team. And I think our team notices that when you reward the right guys, that's noticed by

the locker room and that's important for us. General manage, sorry, general Manager Ryan Pace. Our guest here, I'm Bears Coaches Show, filling in for Matt Negge and his coordinators tonight. It's brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants in time for a check of w bbm's traffic and weather. Together them the Eights could even need to Abby Ryan. The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network now on news radio seven eighty and one oh five point

nine FM. This is the Bears Coaches Show, a special Labor Day edition featuring the General manager of the Bears, Ryan Pace. The Bears Coaches Show is brought to you by Whippley CPA sent Celtics Advocate Healthcare for Rison and Miller Litte. Now from Hollis Hall, here's the Voice of the Bears w BBMS Jeff Jodiac. Oh man, I'm so ready to hit somebody other than my teammate, you know what I mean. Yeah, some we're looking forward to. And it's something I feel like it's going because a lot

of hungrew coming out there Thursday night. Yeah, that's Khalil mack As We're walcome you back here to the Bears Coaches Show at PNC Studios at Hallis Hall. And he's in a great mood right now, right And he really he kept looking down to the ground when he kept thinking about hitting somebody else. And while it's a cliche and you hear it every preseason from every player, uh, you somehow get the idea that what he did last first half in his five day ramp up to become

a Bear. He talked about it today. He goes, Yeah, you know, you take everything. It's it's mindset. It's a mindset. It's not about the you know, you get yourself ready physically, but the mindset that helps you play the game. And I'll tell you a few players have come around here that have kind of captured the hearts and minds of everybody, teammates, coaches, fans so quickly in this guy. Yeah, it's the passion he plays with, and you know, he brings it every

single day. So every single practice you go to, he's one hundred miles an hour. He's disrupting everything. That's the type of player that he is. And it's we're lucky to have him. You know, he ran out of the tunnel for a preseason game and they had, you know, young fans running out with him, and I didn't think he wanted that kid to beat him running because he he wants to win every race. I mean, he was going full. The guy's so competitive, he's with his teammates,

he do. He won't let anybody beat him in any kind of sprint. That's the way he is. And that that type of energy that he brings, and we've said it before, it's infectious to the whole defense. Everybody steps their game up when he's around, whether it's practice or in the game. And we can't wait to see him this season. Yeah, did you celebrate the one year anniversary of his arrival yesterday? I mean social media, bear, social media had it all over the place. But you know,

it's hard to forget. Yeah. You know, we kind of joked about it when the time came around, but at the same time, it was a busy weekend for us, so we didn't have a lot of time to reminisce. Yea, it is true. So the first injury report was out. Trey Burton was limited today, so that you know, you met the media this morning and a lot of discussion about a slight growing strain. It doesn't appear to be

anything significant, So do we take that as a positive today? Yeah, today was a positive as a step in the right direction. I think with any of these, you know, soft tissue injuries. You know, he is a mild growing strain. It's kind of a day by day process as you as you're going through it, and well, you know, we'll see how progresses throughout the week, but today was a good step. Yeah, and as and a pretty good healthy team. You sigure out Rashad Koward working through an elbow, but other than

end knock on wood, everything's good. And so you know, you're you're feeling the the the bounce of not having to play players in preseason games. And I think, by and large, aside from certain players, just they love playing no matter what they'd play with nobody in the stands, you know, I think guys are appreciative of that right now.

I didn't know what to expect actually from their reaction, but I think they do feel fresh and we're gonna hear a sound bite later on from Taylor Gabriel that he feels like he's played games because of the intensity

of practice. Yeah. I thought coach Naggy did a good job explaining the team the why and the starters the why like we're going to back off you in the preseason, but in replace of that, we're going to increase your reps in practice and there's going to be in a lot of conditioning in practice, and the players totally bought into it. So I feel we have a well conditioned team right now, but also a healthy team that's chumping

on the bit to get out there in live action. Now, if you had players that said, hey, you know what, gosh, Ryan and Coach, I really want to play. I need to play, how do you handle those situations? And maybe maybe they have come up, I don't know, you know, it's they're all case by case and you just kind of talk it out with those guys, and you know,

in certain situations maybe there's some merit to it. But for the most part, everybody bought into our plan and it was very collaborative the whole approach, and I think, you know, you're you're protecting the health of some of those players, but at the same time, as evaluators, we're getting a lot of reps at the back end of our roster to not only evaluate, but also help those

guys develop as young players. No story was bigger, really, and the only one probably got more column inches written about was was the kicking search And the end result is Eddie Pinero and I think from going around the locker room and hearing everybody, they really love a couple of things. A bottom one, there is a confidence in this twenty three year old kid that is infectious and he's very excitable, and I think those are perfect fits

for this football team. Now, you still got to prove it out there when when when the games get going here over the course of the season, but through the whole process, how do you how do you frame it for everybody out there? I think the process is the word that comes to mind is thorough and aggressive. And it was the same thing that we've done with the receiver position or the running back position in the past. It was, hey, you know, we need to get this right.

So in an ideal situation, we're hitting on a young guy that we can grow and develop with long term. So we brought in a lot of kickers, a lot of tryouts, and it was a thorough process going through that. We brought in Jamie Cole, who's probably the top kicking consultant in the country. We used a lot of technology as to evaluate this and basically it whittled down to one man standing and that's Eddie and the team's embraced him. He has the right mindset, he's got really good leg talent,

and we're excited where he's at right now. We have a lot of confidence in him. Aside from just knowing the facts of what guys maker don't make. Is there an instinctive aspect of this position as well, that you have a gut feeling about a guy you got a run with it. I think there is a little bit of that. I mean, obviously we're paying attention to the mechanics and how they strike the ball on the lift and the timing of the operation and all those things.

But you know, I think a kicker's demeanor is really important. His confidence is really important, and Eddie has that. I think his teammates feel that. You can see the way they react. Everybody's kind of been on this journey together as we've gone through this process, and I think that's what's made it special. Now more of the Bears Coaches Show with General manager Ryan Pace on news radio seven eighty and one oh five point nine FM w BBM.

He's comfortable. He's comfortable going to the second year. He's comfortable. He's confident in his looks. He's confident in his reads, he's confidence in the different looks that he's getting so and also he's confidence in his receivers knowing that we're going to go up and make those plays. That's Taylor Gabriel, Bears wide receiver and welcoming you back to the Bears Coaches Show, brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants.

Jeff Joniac with Ryan Pace, the Bears general manager, kind enough to spend the hour with us tonight while Matt Nage and his staff prepared for the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. Let's talk miss Rubisky, because you know, unsolicited a lot of guys, whether it be the offensive line, Taylor today talking about you know, everybody asked the same question. Honestly, they were as he from last year, and that seems to be the popular question almost daily. And it's understandable.

It's quarterback position. But to hear the guys themselves, they don't have to say it, they could say something else. They say, there's a confidence in Mitch that has grown from last year in this scheme. He's always been confident in my opinion, but you're seeing it also from a different lens as a general manager and watching it closely

every day of practice. What do you see? Yeah, I think, Jeff, that's a it's a natural progression that you know, you come to expect, you know, year two in the offense with him, and it's it's not just Mitch though, It's it's all the it's the entire offense. Everybody looks more comfortable this year. You can just feel it the way we practice, the way things operate, but Niche you feel the confidence in and out of the huddle, the way

he processes things, the way he is with his teammates. Uh, it's just it's just a comfort level with the system and also the players around him. Yeah, and I also you can, first of all you tell me, but he looks really strong right now, thicker, still moving great, you know, going back and watching some of those great runs that he had last year. I mean just the eyes are still downfield and he's moving out of trouble, which is

a total weapon against any defense. But just his physical maturation also, you sense that's a big part of maybe where he said it also, Yes, and I think you know it comes with his work ethic. He's an extremely high work ethic, so whether it be in the weight room or on the practice field. And I think that's endearing to his teammates too, because they see the effort that he puts in the in the in the film room, in the weight room. You know, he's always at the facility,

and you know, he wants to be great. He wants to bring his teammates with him, and I think they all see that, and that's very endearing. What did you see over the course of camp? And a lot of folks want to talk about, you know, how the offfense performed against the defense or whatever, or interceptions or whatnot. But some of that, you know, you want to you

want to try things, and is that kind of the mindset. Yeah, we're trying different things on offense and testing different throws and in different plays, and Matt's pushing him and you're going against a great defense, and I think that's making all those guys better. I think both of our tackles are better right now from going against Leonard Foot and cleilmac every day. I think, you know, it makes them

all better. And when you can operate against the defense's flying around like that, with that pass rush and that much noise in the pocket, I just think it makes it that much easier. Sometimes in the regular season, I'm gonna repuat a quote from Matt and I don't remember what point this offseason happened, but he said, no one, not one person truly knows how far that kid has come this year than me. I mean, we're lucky. We're lucky to have him. I'm looking forward to the future.

I really am with him because the city of Chicago is lucky to have that kid at quarterback. Again, not something he has to say, because these things are cataloged and remembered, but the belief to have a coach that wasn't here when they drafted him, and to have that kind of belief and work that hard with him and have the assets around him, and that you've also provided in terms of skill position players. Is that a perfect

storm for Mitch Rubisky And I think it is. I think, you know, Matt and Mitch are together all the time, and I think the more they're together, they're more they're seeing things through the same lens, and that's what Matt wants. And I think, you know, as Mitch is growing with a young quarterback, as a young quarterback, I love that he's surrounded with Matt Naggey, Mark Helfritz, Dave Ragone, Chase

Daniel Tyler Bray. I like the room in the in the guys that have surrounded him because it's helped his

maturation over the last two years tremendously. What have you seen anecdotally from Like, if there's moments when you're watching Mitch on the practice field in those quiet days when no other eyes are around, but you're just watching anything that's resonating with you these days from Mitch, just just the way he's throwing, or just anything anything, anything that says wow, I mean, can you can feel we always talk about throwing with conviction. You can feel him throwing

with conviction and confidence. You know. It's and I think that's something that's that's steadily improved as he's gotten more comfortable in the offense and who he's throwing too. But just again, just as work ethic. You know, he's he's he's always here. He's always doing something to make himself better or make his teammates better. Um, It's just that's just natural for him, you know. And I think they all feel that, even even away from here, they're always

hanging out together. Um, He's just he's just a guy that you enjoy being around and you enjoy playing with um. And that's why we're lucky to have him. The Bears Coaches Show, a special edition featuring General manager Ryan Pace brought to you by Whippley CPAs and Consultants, Athletico Physical Therapy and the Village of Bedford Park. Once again the Voice of the Bears w BBMS Jeff jodyad I think he's come through well. I think it's first and foremost,

his teammates believe in him. We believe in him as coaches and have total confidence in in you know, running everything at this point. That's Mark Halfretch, Bears offensive coordinator, at the podium today, big day for interviews, all the coaches, the coordinators and a bunch of players in the locker room. A feast for the media today up at Hallisaw and Big week. There was a lot of a national media here as well as you would expect for the build

up for the season opener. Bears and Packers will have it for you with a four to twenty pregame and a seven twenty two kickoff it Soldier Field on Thursday back with Ryan Pace, Bears general manager, and we touched on it. You know, these guys often don't get a lot of the attention, but Dave Ragone and Mark Helfritch, the entire offensive staff are tremendous teachers and it's really they're fun guys too. They're serious when it gets needs to be serious. It's serious when you have a little fun,

it sounds like to have a little fun. Can you take me behind the curtain a little bit about that part of it, Like the dynamic of that offensive staff as they get together each week to put together the game plan, the late nights, the hijinks, whatever that case may be. It's it's very collaborative. That's the word that

comes to minding. Matt takes input from everybody, So you could be the offensive coordinator or quality control, take a good idea from anybody, and I think you'll walk into Matt's office and it's pretty much you know Florida ceiling, you know, whiteboard space, and there's play drawn up all over it. You know. I'm sure that's been talked about. Yeah,

but it's neat to see. And they're all different. And you know, I think when I think about our coaching staff right now, and it's a major strength of the organization. It's huge for us because those guys are the true multipliers, you know. And we bring guys, we bring an offensive lineman who's a young player in James Daniels, and put them in Harry Eastad's room and watch Harry develop that player and maximize that player. That's huge, and it's throughout

our building. I really feel like we Matt's put together an excellent coaching staff and it makes us look better a scout sometimes because when they get in they're able to develop them in maximizer skill sets the quickest way. And I bring it up because of Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck in our game and it's something that you know still resonates I think throughout the league. But you gotta have a line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Knowingly was that part of your mission was to make sure that offensive line is protecting this most value piece to the puzzle on any NFL team, the quarterback. Because you reinvested in Charles Leno, You're reinvested in Bobby Massey,

you restructured Kyle Long. He was kind enough to do that same same with Leno as well, uh Cody, and then you drafted a high draft asset for this very versatile player who's only twenty one and he's going to be controlling that line of scrimmage getting everybody lined up with a quarterback that's uh, you know, just twenty five, twenty six years old as well. So was that a Was that a plan? Yes? It was, And I think

you know, it starts there. And every good team I've been a part of the offensive line has been strong and good and there's contuity there and we had that here. And I think the more those guys play together, the better they get. You can feel it right now, the way they play off each other. That's a really tight knit group. They're always around each other um and I think that's that's big for us right now. Those guys are all young, they're all under contract, and they're all coached.

But who I think is one of the better offensive line coach in the league in Harry east Head. Seeing what happened this week around the league with the movement of players, did anything shock you. And it's hard to give up a tackle like Miami did because tackles are hard to find. They are hard to find and that are ready to plug and play. And that's why when you're starting to look for backup tackles and everything that is an exercise for using it. Yeah, offensive linemen are

hard to find, especially left tackles. And you know, to answer your question, nothing really shocks me anymore. I think we're kind of ready for every kind of You kind of set that tone last year, and I think every one of these trades too. They're also case by case basis and individual. But yeah, the offensive linement and it's they're getting harder and harder to find, you know, and it's a valuable position for us, and we've invested a

lot in it. You know, it's obvious. But what I like is is we're young there again, they're under contract and it's a tight knit group. Thursday nights, regular season home all but are kicking off the bears one hundredth season. It's brought to you by Miller Lite, the official beer of your Chicago Bears. The Bears coaches show what GM Ryan Pace and w BBMS Jeff Jodiac continues stay unconventional.

And what I would tell you is, I mean, I mean, if you think about it, we're trying to find a kicker, and if we would just do the same thing over and over again and expect different results, I think that's the definition of insanity. So our process that we went through, I'm really proud of the process that we went through. That's Chris Tabor Bear Special Teams Coordinator earlier today here at Hattis Hall where we are at P ANDC Studios, and this is the Bears Coaching Show, brought to you

by a Whippley CPA's and Consultants. He had a funny quote there because that is that is true. That's a common um. I guess it would be a cliche or whatever. But you gotta you gotta get it right. And so you guys feel you got it right. And Eddie Pinero right now, and he still has to prove himself. But I think with his input and Jamie Cole's and your own input as general manager, I mean, you gotta feel

really good. I know we touched out earliness, so show if you're just joining us, we're just talking about, you know, the whole kicking process, and he brought it to a head today. You got to ask a lot of questions about it. He feels good about the entire thing. It wasn't some tarade, it wasn't some joke. This was serious business. It was serious business with a lot of people involved. And you know, uh, you know Brocker assistant Special Team's

coach as well. And I think just going through that process, that thorough process whittled it all the way down to Eddie and then we feel good about it. You know, Jeff, we knows as a young kicker there's gonna be you know, ebbs and flows, and there's gonna be adversity, and we might have to have some patience at times, but we're confident in the decision. We're confident where he is from a talent standpoint and also where he is just from

from a mindset standpoint. All Right, it is a one hundred year celebration that's really been taking care of already, which is kind of cool when you think about it. It's not something that's gonna it's gonna be always at the forefront, but it just kind of adds to whatever where everything has come to a head here, kind of an apex, you get. Yeah, that one hundred celebration. Everybody got really involved in the franchise, the whole building, yourself

included the addition, which is spectacular. You brought people through here last week. It looks better every day, honestly, it's just it's so it's so nice. You got a team coming off a twelve win season, a playoff. You're right, you haven't accomplished anything yet. But you're you're headed in

the right direction. You've got star players on both sides of the ball, yet a roster filled with people you clearly have great respect, as Matt does, for the history of the franchise and everything that's been been done before you. When you put together your list and your mission statement, did you always keep that in the back of your mind about the history of this franchise, especially right now. These guys are living and breathing, and I don't think

they're ever going to forget it. Yeah, I think, you know, it's something that we have that we're all very grateful for. We all respect, and I think, you know, Coach does a good job, you know, with our younger players, you know, talking about the history of this team, in the important history and all the guys that have walked in their steps beforehand. And when you put on this jersey, you know who you're playing for. And I think our guys

take a lot of pride in that. And I think that one hundred years celebration brought a lot of that to life when they were able to sit there and talk to those guys and meet those guys, watch the eighty five team walk around and the swagger they carry and the confidence they carry. That kind of stuff's good for our young players to see, you know. But I think there's a good blunt here right now as far as respecting the history of the franchise, but also focusing

on what we can do now. We talked about creating our own legacy and what's ahead of us, and I think we're looking forward to that. You know, some of the guys have walked through the entrance, the player's entrance. For everybody hasn't seen this, maybe just check it out on Chicago Bears dot com. But you've got the numbers of the great players and it's illuminated and there's highlights, and guys are saying, I want to be on that wall. You know. Is it that infectious even at six o'clock

in the morning when they come walking in. I think the facility everything was done with a lot of foresight in mind. So when the players walking every day, they're walking by, you know, all the retired numbers and there's music pumping in there, and there's a highlight video at the end of the hallway and it is, you know,

inspirational to the to our guys. You know, you do want to you realize who's played here before, and you want to make your mark on this franchise, to leave your mark, leave the jersey in a better place than you found it, so that I would say, uh, there's some flash with that, but there's a lot of thought put behind that entrance to kind of set their minds right when they come into the building. That right away

wakes you up and it's inspiring. You also think it as a an effect on players in their own personal swagger a little bit. I mean, not to put it in a wrong way, to use it in a wrong way, but man, this is the Bears. Yeah, I know we're at the precipice of something potentially great. Yeah, we're always reminding them of that. I do. I think you're right. I think when you put on the Chicago Bears uniform there is a confidence that comes with that because of

who this, what this franchise means. And if you haven't bought the Bears one hundred years, scrap get you go to page nineteen and there's a quote from Ryan Pace. I see opportunities. I feel we're on the verge of doing something really special here. So that was done months ago. But you have to believe that from the moment you

got here that eventually that statement will deliver. I guess you always have, uh, you know, an inner confidence that if we if we, if we have time and we can do this the right way and build this the right way, that this is the goal. You know that. And we still have a lot of work to do, and but right now, where the roster is and where our staff is, you feel like things are kind of

starting to dial in. And for me, you just have a sense of pride and you're very grateful to have the responsibility and just come to this building every day. It's it's a joy to pull in every day. And with the staff we have, the players we have, the facilities we have, um, it's a fun time to be part of this. And you can take a free agent through here now and say, wow, this is all your tools. What I think of it, what I love about it

is it's it's not just flash. You know. I think a lot of college facilities are built because they need to recruit for that. For us, it's about what makes our players better. So everything was done with that in mind. So our players feel us reinvesting in them, and that's good for everybody. They've become better players, they get rewarded, we win more games, and I think I think around the league people that's going to be known, and I think that makes this a desirable place to be. We're

gonna pick up that conversation. Got a story to tell you about one of your players. I won't say who, but it does speak to what you're saying. Before we go to this traffic, Gibson's Restaurant group wants to thank Ryan for joining us tonight. Bears Coaches Show give car to enjoy a meal at any of their Chicagoland locations. The Bears Coaches Show with General Manager Ryan Pace continues exclusively on the Home of the Bears News Radio seven eighty and one oh five point nine FM w BBM.

And welcome back to the program. Our final segment with Bears General Manager Ryan Pace kind enough to join us tonight on The Bears Coaches Show is Matt Naggie and his staff continue to prepare for the Green Bay Packers. Were brought to you by Whipfley, CPAs and Consultants. So, Matt, how do you define your relationship right now with Matt Nagy in terms of non football? We're gonna buvet football for him, And if that's possible, how would you describe it and what do you how do you guys work

together beyond just talking football. You know, obviously we're close, we're close in age, we're similar in a lot of ways. We live you know, half a mile apart, or our wives have become close. So it just makes it. It just makes it easy, you know, for him and I we never let anything fester. So if anything's ever on either one of our minds, we talk about it right away. We make decisions together. Just I would just say it's it's it's easy, you know. Yeah, but your workout maniac.

You guys ever work out together. He has start the pelotons I gotta go, which which is cool to see. Um, yeah, that's kind of a work in progress. Sure you're encouraging it. Yes, Well, which he does is for his own staff. I mean, he wants these guys to spend time, you know, staying healthy because it's it's hard. I love that he does that. He has time cut cut out for them to work out. He brings in massage therapist for his coaching staff once

a week. It's a there's a one hour period where we let the families all come in, we order pizza, that we all hang out together with the kids. It's so important for the energy of the building. He's really conscious of that. Yeah, and that's something that I think young parents that are in the building, coaches or whatever, can respect you're a dad as well. I mean, it's it's got to be extremely difficult in your position to find that balance. And how have you managed that over

five years? It's hard, you know, because you know a lot of times most of the time you're you know, you're away in the morning before they wake up, and you're home at night and they're already asleep, you know, so you've got to find the windows and uh, you know, I remember, you know, Coach used to always say this, it's about your presence, not presence, and I think that echoes and just just being available them and making when

you are around being there. I think it's easy to go home and be on your cell phone and but you need to detach from work sometimes and I think we all make a conscious effort to do that. How have you honestly handled wins and losses as it's progressed and throughout your course of your career, have you always handled them the same way? Do you handle them different now? And yeah? So really I think to day we're also

competitive and we put so much into this. You know, it can it can eat it can eat you up, you know, because it's it's it's it's can be consuming, you know. But I think the one thing when you talk about Matt and I being similar, one thing where I think we're very much alike his glass half full and optimistic mindsets. So when that does happen, our minds quickly turned to the next day, the next morning, solutions like how can we fix this? How can we make

this better? And that's that to me, that's energizing, like Okay, now now we're fixing the problem instead of just complaining about it. And to me that that helps sometimes when you go through these losses, that we have a similar mindset. Green Bay Packers, Let's talk about him a little bit before we let you go and move on here for the for the night. What's your knowledge of Matt Lafleur

over the years. Yeah, you know, to follow out his career, you know, you know, and he's a bright, young, offensive mind, you know, no different than Matt was you know a year ago. And I think you know everybody's everybody's looking for that, and um, you pair him with Aaron Rodgers, and that's a dangerous combination, you know, and we know there's going to be some new wrinkles. You can study where he's been in the past, you can study Tennessee,

but he'll have his own flair on this offense. And you put some talent behind that, and it makes them dangerous in terms of what we're looking at here. You said today, Yeah, the expectation always is to go to the super Bowl. We'll look at it a little different way because you got some really good veteran stars on this team. You get the two pillars that you brought in initially and a Keem Hicks who has unbelievably great respect for you guys, been together eight your eight of

his nine years. He credits you for a lot of his you know, the way his career is turned and allowing him to be him. But Danny Trevathan and then you throw in one of your draft picks Roquan Smith to Kyle Fuller and Prince and Mugamara and Akeem Hicks, I mean, Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd's still rising and Eddie Goldman's just twenty five five years into league, and Eddie Jackson became a star player who still has a lot of room for growth, and veterans with Buster Screen

and Clinton Dix. I mean, as you're putting these pieces all together over time, are you seeing it in your mind's eye what it might look like no matter who's coordinating the defense. I think it's something. Yeah. I think you're you're always envisioning how it's all going to come together and how they're all going to click together, you know, And I think, what's It's such a team sport. So you had these talented individuals, but how do they play

together as a group? And what I think what's great about them is they're not only great players, but they're all great teammates and they all get along so well. You can see it in practice every day, the way they communicate, the way they push each other. That's what I think. Uh, it's going to make them really good as we go forward. I don't know what the ceiling

is um, but we're excited about it. And then offensively another year together with Robinson and Tark Colin and Anthony Miller and Cordall Patterson I mean you feel you've got enough weapons? Yeah, we feel like we do. And I think it's you know, it's been a conscious effort to surround our quarterback with weapons and and we felt like we've done that, you know, with the receivers and the

running backs and the height ends we do. And again I think we always, I know, the focus is always on the quarterback and his growth, but it's you really feel it with our skilled players too. Year two in this offense, just I'm excited about their run them backs, are you, Yeah, from top to bottom. And so it's going to be fun to watch the way we use all three of those guys, really four of those guys, because they're all different, all bring different things at the table.

All right, Well, it's gonna be fun. I know everybody's looking forward to it. You included. It's a brand new year and a lot of great memories to be to be turned into the Bears lore hopefully in two thousand and nineteen. Appreciate all your time, Thanks for sitting in tonight. Thanks Jeff, that's Bears general manager Ryan Pace. That's gonna do it for tonight's program. Thanks as well to our producers tonight, Roger Plummer, Andy Gersher and Dan Barrelli helping

us out. It's the Bears and the Packers for the season opener Thursday Night. Pregame at four twenty kickoff at seven twenty two. Please join us myself and Tom there. This has been Bears Coaches Show on WBBM News Radio seven eighty one five point nine FM WBBM