Bears veterans report on “unusual” culture in this year’s locker room

Bears veterans report on ‘unusual’ culture in this year’s locker room originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – A winning culture is one of the elusive intangibles that every sports team in the world strives for each season. It’s difficult to describe and impossible to quantify. It’s also what Bears GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus sought to completely transform when they took over the organization in 2022 with sweeping personnel changes and the implementation of HITS principles.

The Bears specifically wanted players with a lot of power who could play through the echoes of the whistles on every snap. They wanted guys who loved football because they loved football, not just because they were good at it. And they wanted to focus on effort, intensity, winning the ball and smart ballplay.

As the Poles/Eberflus regime enters its third year, the Bears believe their culture is better than ever.

“I’ve felt like this since the day we got here, day one. Everyone is starving, everyone wants to eat, some way, any way,” said nickel corner Kyler Gordon.

Gordon has been with the Bears since the new program began and is part of Poles and Eberflus’ first draft class. He has noticed a difference in the culture from his rookie season to now, calling it “unusual.”

“The way we talk to each other, the way we criticize each other positively and influence each other, the responsibility, the way we hold each other to standards and things like that – we really have it under control 24/7.”

The real influx of talent for the team began in 2023 after Poles stripped the roster down to the bare essentials. He brought in big-name veterans like Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards as free agents, and blockbuster trades brought in cornerstones like DJ Moore and Montez Sweat.

But last year, the team was still getting a feel for each other. They were still figuring out what their identity as a team was going to be. Now, they’ve spent a lot more time together building relationships off the court, which helps their relationships on the court.

“Now that we’ve relaxed a little bit more, I know you better, and that trust factor when you go out on the field and know your brother is there for you and is going to make the play, that’s the game we play,” Edmunds said. “Just that experience and the ability to do that is going to make this team 10 times better.”

Another important key, says Edmunds, is that the Bears have created an environment where everyone feels comfortable as they are and no one is faking anything to impress others.

“I trust the individual more, I respect the individual more when they show up as their authentic selves,” Edmunds said. “I think we have a lot of people where what they see is what they get. It’s not like I show up for this person, I try to be this person, but behind closed doors I am this person. No. It’s a real person. I think when you have a group of real people, that connection and that energy that you feel is just naturally going to feel different.”

Edmunds listed a number of ways players came together outside the building to build these bonds, such as going out to eat, going to the pool, or even shopping together at the mall.

“All of that leads to us playing fast on Sundays or any other day we play,” Edmunds said. “I know — as weird as it sounds — things that might make (a teammate) smile or things that might get on their nerves … Whatever it is, that kind of relationship and that kind of energy, man, that’s what drives winning football teams.”

The Bears view their culture as something they will continue to work on and develop. It is not a finished product and the hope is that it will improve with each year of continuity.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Edmunds said. “It’s not something you develop in the offseason or training camp and that’s it. No. It’s something you develop through the adversity you face throughout the year. There will be ups and downs, but what we’re building now will get us over this hurdle.”

For now, however, the mood is good: the team is ready to show the league what it has cooked up in Halas Hall.

The starters may be ready in the preseason, and if that’s the case, that’s fine with Gordon. He’s now ready to rock with the team in Week 1.

“I would say it’s a really positive energy boost.”

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