Hall of Fame Ex-Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher talks new hires, former players, and a young man following in his footsteps
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Bears are undergoing a bit of a facelift with a new GM and head coach in the fold.
Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus hope they found a player or two that turns out to be half as good as Brian Urlacher when he was drafted back in 2000. CBS 2's Marshall Harris recently caught up with the Hall of Fame linebacker to get his thoughts on the future of his former team.
MARSHALL HARRIS: Justin Fields is the guy someone is kind of hanging their hat on right now. From what you've seen, do you think he could be a franchise quarterback? What are your impressions?
BRIAN URLACHER: He's athletic. He has a big arm. He's getting pressure every single play. It's hard to judge someone on pressure. He's athletic and he gets out of the way. He does great with pressure. I'd like to see him put time in the pocket and try to pick some guys apart. I think he'll get better.
I like the Coach Eberflus hire. He comes from the (Rod) Marinelli brand of football that I really like. I played for Marinelli for a few years in Chicago. So I like that hire.
MH: How excited are you to see them come back to a more speed-based, turnover-driven defense?
BU: That wins games. We did it for so long. Most linebackers are 6'1" and 220 lbs. and they can all run now. They weren't like that back when I played. It's different now and it's going to be fun again. They'll run to the football. They'll get takeaways.
MH: You know with new management comes changes. How surprised were you to see Khalil Mack leave?
BU: Shocked. I mean you give up two first-round picks for the guy, three or four years ago, and then you pay him, which he deservedly earned, and then to trade him, I don't understand all the cap stuff. I don't know how that goes. I know he missed some time last year with an injury, but man, when he's healthy, that dude a monster. There has to be a good reason behind it. They don't do things just for the heck of it. There's got to be a good reason why they did it. I'm sure there's a good reason for it.
MH: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about your son Kennedy, who is turning a lot of heads early on in his high school career. I know you played a lot of safety, he's playing safety, what do you see in him that reminds you of you from back in the day? How good can he be?
BU: He's getting a lot of hype because of his size and his ability. He's athletic. The thing I like about him is that he's knowledgeable. He works his tail off in the weight room. But the kid is smart. He actually thinks I know something about football. For a couple of years, he thought I was a complete idiot. So it's nice having him ask me questions about football. Good questions too, coverage questions. Things that, if you didn't play football, you wouldn't understand. So it's nice to see him ask, what I think, are good questions. Athletically he's there and he busts his butt every single day, which I appreciate.
