Former OL Jerry Fontenot talks Bears-Packers rivalry

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Big week.

Welcome in, everybody. This is Bears Etc. Episode number 252 with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Joniak. Coming up in moments, Jerry Fontenot, the former Bears center, Tommy's teammate, and a former Packers assistant coach. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I'll tell you what, big week.

That's all I keep hearing in the building here at Hallis Hall. People walking down the hallway.

Big week.

Bears, etc.

Brought to you by Chevy Drive Chicago. Chicago to Northwest Indiana. Chevy dealers meeting 214. For some reason, time is dripping with intrigue already.

There's a thousand different directions you can look at this game. The importance and the impact it'll have at the end of the season in terms of the division title. Where this game has gone over. over the last couple of years, since the inception of this football game, the rivalry that it's created as a young kid, as a player, as a broadcaster and a bears fan. And when you talk about big week, that conversation starts early and it starts forever.

And that's the great thing about the emotional attachment to this football game. It, it starts early. It lingers with you, and it stays around you.

I was just chatting with Josh Blackwell in the locker room. You know, the older guys who've been here a bit, they like hearing the old stories. The new guys, they have to learn it on their own. They have to experience it on their own. And so I was sharing stories about you and just about over the years of what has happened in that building, in particular at Lambeau.

Forget about the rivalry for a minute. He goes, you know, the longer you're around here, you hear more of this, and it just becomes more and more of a, you know, it's just that angst, as you like to say. And so that's where they're at right now. So kind of interesting, just kind of an interesting setup for the week. Won't face them until Christmas Day again at Soldier Field. And again, later in the season, those games are going to carry possibly a lot more weight than they do right now.

But you've got to set yourself up to get there, as the Bears did a year ago. So take care of your business in Green Bay. And let's see what happens. They've got some things going on for themselves, too. It's interesting listening to the two different coaches at the podium on Wednesday. There's an interesting layer of intensity already just sitting there on the horizon.

Yeah.

But I mean, it goes back to my era, Jeff, the intensity between the players was there and it was ever present and it carried over to the field sometimes beyond the whistle, but it's also ever present between the coaches because we all know what's happened over the last couple of games and the handshake and everything. And I hear talk of it on radio and TV today. And so it's, it's, it's hard to deny. And as an ex has been football player, but still a bears fan walking into the building is you got a low, a level of just kind of uneasiness. And there's only one way you want to walk out of the building. And if you do walk out of the walk out of that building, that one way, it's a great week and it's a great couple months.

All right, let's get into the matchup a little bit before we hear from Jerry Fontenot. Good news, Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with old bells and whistles like Bluetooth connectivity, screens at every seat, and room for everyone's roller bag. United proud to fly the Chicago Bears in U2. What's the impact, in your opinion, of no Edger and Cooper?

Where does that responsibility go to?

Who picks up that responsibility?

They had a guy that they could count on, that they could rely upon to build the defenses around and try to take advantage of maybe what they perceive some Bears' vulnerabilities are. And then who has to absorb more responsibility? than just what they've been doing since when Cooper was on the field. And we'll see how it goes. Does that mean that there's more bodies at the line of scrimmage?

Does it mean there's less bodies at the line of scrimmage? Do they believe they have a guy waiting in the wings that could be an impact in this football game, unbeknownst to the Bears? So there's a lot of different ways that they can go about their business. And sometimes if it makes a defensive coordinator who's a new defensive coordinator happen to take a chance against the bears and you take the right chance and win okay if you take the wrong chance and you lose you might be talking about suffering a big player points.

Yeah isaiah mcduffie tyron hopper would be uh the fill-ins era linebacker certainly no michael parsons just yet uh they brought christian welch up from the practice squad another linebacker so they're trying to get uh get back to to uh numbers being correct there.

Ben has brought it up and we've brought it up already.

It's going to be a big part of my piece in the Bears TV show, Bears Game Day Live, is the safety play of Evan Williams and the safety play of Xavier McKinney, who leads the NFL in interceptions here since he got in the league. They're good players. They made big plays against Tampa Bay. Guys to watch as the Bears try to get something done up front and keep that running game brewing and give Tyson Bajan some clear avenues to success.

You know, one thing about the Tampa game is I've watched it, but I almost ignore it because of the inexperience that the quarterback position. Now that means an experience of a defensive coordinator and defensive personnel, they can be in control. So there is no crowd noise supporting the opponent's quarterback's voice and tempo. A rookie quarterback starting for the first time has a tendency to go on the same count often in the game. So I do think that presents a little bit of an advantage to the opponent's defense when you're playing against a quarterback that is playing for the first time. And I know this is Bajan's first time playing on the road, but he's got experience in the system. He's got experience with his coaching staff.

And he's been in the quarterback room for now a couple years. So I kind of have been watching tape outside the Tampa game rather than watching the Tampa game.

And he had a road start in 23 in the Superdome. So that was a noisy environment. So that'll be something to draw on a little bit. The Packers run game, really nonexistent up until this point, Tom. At 58 a game, that's last in the NFL.

It's hard to imagine.

But Josh Jacobs on the commissioner's exemplar right now for his off-field issues. I look at their running game. They have zero rushing touchdowns in the red zone. Last year, 12 for Josh Jacobs. Can the Bears keep them one-dimensional? And to what end does that look for the Bears if they do that?

Well, first of all, I think you have to focus on the offensive line performance rather than the running back because, you know, running backs, they have the innate ability to envision how and where the holes are going to open up.

If there is no.

Holes opening up, then you put the pressure onto the running back to create and perform. So, first of all, I think Dennis Allen has done an unbelievable job of creating a line of scrimmage that there's always– thinking going on by the offensive line. Cause you don't know exactly who, what, where people are coming from. And so if you can put that thought into the minds of the primary blockers in this offense, maybe you can create that hesitancy of, um, dedication to the whole called by the running back and then you can have bears gang style of defense slow these guys down and that's what it's going to take it's going to take a heck of an effort and you know like i'm a little leery of saying oh

we got to make them one dimensional because jordan love he's got some big weapons there that can go deep and he can take chances And Tucker craft, the tight end is coming back from an injury that is a, is a good football player. So I just think it's all around sound defensive, uh, by Dennis Allen and his whole staff and all the players that, you know, they have to pull off on Sunday.

I know it happened and we know what it meant, uh, in terms of playing 93 snaps or 89 snaps, but, uh, At least early in the week, the practice reflected that with a lot of guys not practicing. A lot of guys have something, but the running backs in particular, both DeAndre Swift and Kyle Monunga have multiple body parts that are hurting right now. In the case of Monunga, 30 carries would do that. Ben even said, yeah, he's got 30 carries on him right now. So when does that wear off this week?

Friday. Friday.

You know, I think it takes a toll on you throughout the week. And I think nowadays with the sports science department, the nutritionists, the hydration personnel, the weight room attendants, all these guys, they have a hand in making sure that these athletes are brought back up to freshness by the time Sunday gets here.

And then let me tell you something, man.

When adrenaline kicks in on that bus ride Sunday from Appleton to Green Bay, That's when it really starts.

That's when it starts to kickstart. That's when it turns over.

That's when you start get that adrenaline flowing and you get a feeling unlike any others.

So I know that, um, The.

Scientific part of getting these athletes back and ready and in condition to play Sunday, it starts immediately following the game. But listen, they'll be ready once Sunday comes. I can guarantee you that.

How do you tell a cashier you're a Bears fan without telling them you're a Bears fan? With the Chicago Bears PNC Bank Visa Debit Card, which gets you exclusive discounts on Bears merchandise. Find out more at pnc.com slash bearscard. Okay, our special guest this week is Jerry Fontenot. Tommy, close friends with him from their playing days. Old number 67, third-round pick in 1989, the 65th pick of the Bears.

Played here until, well, he played until 1996. Then went to the Saints. Played there from 97 to 2003 in the Bengals in 2004. All told, 239 games for the Lafayette, Louisiana-born Fontenot, who played his college ball at Texas A & M.

He later became a.

Packers assistant O-line coach. From 2006 to 2010, the running back coach. the tight end coach, and also coached one year in the XFL for the LA Wildcats, and also a Super Bowl champion as a coach in the Packers' 31-25 win over the Steelers after 2010. Let's pick it up, our conversation with the Bears' former offensive lineman. Great to see Jerry looking good. Jerry looking good. We're just swapping age stories. Jerry's a lot younger than Tom and I, and it shows.

How you feeling, man?

Well, Jeff, I appreciate the invite this morning, you and Tommy. How am I feeling? You know, on any given day, that's a loaded question. But this morning, I'm about 80%. All right. So that's a good day at, you know, at our age.

Exactly. I'm not complaining.

You have all your body parts.

I do. Yeah.

The last time I checked. Some of them are getting worn and withered. But you know what? They're holding in there so far.

You know, Jerry, I was there the day that you came aboard the NFL. Then I was amazed at how long you played in the NFL. Did when, when you came into the NFL, did you have your sights set on as long of a career as you played?

Wow.

Uh, you know, I was just trying to make the team because if you remember, whenever I came in, the entire offensive line was still made up of all the guys that played in the You know, I just thought that if I could make this team and learn from you guys, then, you know, I may have a chance to have a little bit of a career. But, no, I definitely had no intentions of length or longevity.

I was just, you know, concerned.

About accelerating my path to improvement and being able to be productive.

And, yeah.

You know, things worked out. I actually had to learn how to deep snap, if you remember.

Well, you may not, but I do.

Oh, I remember.

John Atkins?

Yep.

Okay, so he was the backup center. He was the deep snapper. And I went to Baylor University, who one of my alma maters used to be a rival. But anyway... Um, I, my agent suggested that I learn how to deep snap. So I did. And somehow, some way I made the team and, um, you know, just took one step at a time and the rest is history. And, uh, you know, I learned a lot from the guys in front of me.

That's for sure.

Tommy, Mark Bortz, uh, Hilgi, uh, all you guys, you know, helped me tremendously throughout my career. And that was just, you know, as a side note, you know, one of the, the greatest experiences that I had was your willingness to help me develop. Because, you know, our coach, offensive line coach, Dick Stamfel at the time, would teach us all the X's and O's and the technique. But you guys, he leaned on you guys to teach us how to be professionals.

And that always stuck with me. And I appreciated that. And, you know, you guys were a great example to me.

Well, you know what?

I remember.

You coming aboard, I remember so well because I was watching the day of the draft and any time anybody gets drafted at your position, you think the writing's on the wall. So I was sitting there watching the draft and you got drafted in the third round, right?

Yep.

Yeah.

And I go, all right, Jerry.

Fontenot out of Texas A & M University, offensive guard drafted by the Bears.

And I go, damn, the writing's on the wall. I'm out of here. And that's the first thing I thought.

And it was amazing the course that your career took. And it didn't affect my career, but it ended up affecting Hilge's career and how things work out and how you were able to go from.

Did you play any center in your college career?

You know, my freshman year in college, I redshirted, but I played the interior three positions. And that was what I played whenever I actually played as a freshman. My series would go like this. First series, I would play left guard. Second series, I'd play center. Third series, I'd play right guard. And that's how I would play the game the entire season. So the guys that I was rotating with, you know, our coach was a guy named Joe Alvazano. who played offensive line in the NFL and was a coach with the Dallas Cowboys. Great guy. And that was my experience. So, you know, I had a really good foundation of what those three positions, you know, what was expected of those three positions.

And the technique involved.

And being able to flip-flop from left to right was extremely beneficial for me.

How hard was that?

You know, I.

I didn't really experience, you know, I'm sure I experienced some bumps along the way, but it felt pretty natural after doing it for a time. And probably by the time I got through training camp, it was good.

You guys were all coached by great people over the course of your careers. Do you think your talent would have still... Proved to be NFL worthy and sustainable without that great coaching, even from the early days of your careers.

And you were in a.

Football hotbed down in Louisiana also.

Definitely not. I needed direction. You know, I was a young kid. Whenever I went to college, I graduated high school at 17.

And.

I needed that year of red shirt, so I'll just share a quick story with you guys of what I'm talking about. My maturity level was not quite where it needed to be, and there were some lessons I needed to learn. So the rule was that on Thursday nights before a Saturday game, Coach Cheryl, Jackie Cheryl, would have a curfew of 12 a.m. A bunch of us freshmen went out to a party that one night before the first game. And we stayed out till about 11.50 and got back for a curfew. And I had two guys in my room with me, our dorm room. And our dorm rooms are situated so that the youngest guys were on the top floors. The third floor is a three-fourth floor dormitory. And so we were all on the top floor.

And we got room checked at midnight and we had the bright idea. Hey, let's sneak out because, you know, the party's still going on. And, you know, we're not probably not going to play because I hadn't been declared a redshirt at that point. So, yeah, we snuck out and I was the first one to get down. to the ground, and whenever I... We were on the side of the dormitory towards the parking lot, and so I looked to my left, and there was a security guard standing out in front of the dorm, not looking at me, facing away. So I wasn't sure if he saw me, so I looked up and said, hey, good luck to you guys tomorrow, and I ran across the parking lot and was hiding, and the two guys that were with me, a guy named Troy Neal and John Berman, not that

I was here nor there, but... And they said, hey, wait, we're coming. And so they, like, shimmied down. And instead of following me through the parking lot, they turned to the left where the security guard was. And our dorm coach happened to be outside walking his dog to let him do his business.

And they got busted.

And the next thing I hear, I'm hiding behind this electrical box in the parking lot.

And they go, hey, he knows you're out here, Fontenot. Get in here. Oh. So they ratted me out.

Anyway, Coach Cheryl did have a conversation with my parents the next day because I didn't have the balls to tell them. But my parents came to the game and Coach Cheryl said, look, I want you to know that I love your kid and I love his personality. Tenacity, but I have to teach him a lesson, so he's getting a red shirt this year. That's how the story goes.

I needed some time to grow up, and I needed some time to learn how to be a college kid and manage college life, fun, and football.

Did you have to do the same thing with the Bears because that was a wild bunch now? That's a wild bunch you walked in with.

Um, You know, the personalities on the team were priceless. Between Ming and Hamp and. Well, McMahon was still in training camp whenever I got here.

Kurt Becker. I mean, there were... There were times where I.

Actually raised my eyebrows and just said, wow, this is the NFL, huh?

It was great, though.

It was great, though, because, look, every Sunday those guys showed up to play. And when we were on the practice field, they showed up to work. And I'll tell you guys this. I remember one of the first practices that I was in.

And two lessons that I was taught.

The first one was by Keith Van Horn. He said, look, rookies do not skip practice. I don't care if you have 104 temperature. I don't care if you're throwing up. You do not skip practice because if I need to take some time off, you're going to be the guy taking reps. So that was the first lesson I learned.

The second lesson I learned was I was on scout team. And so I came off the ball and I kind of like, went half speed up into Mike Singletary and he knocked me flat on my ass and ran through me and, and, you know, made the tackle and came back. It picked me up, said, Hey, we don't go half speed here. He goes, you're here to make me better.

Get off your ass and start working. Those were the two lessons I learned right away.

It's great.

And that's just, you know, that's the same way I went about business. Cause I, when I came here in 84 and 85 after the 84, um, NFC championship, he kind of got forewarned that the tempo of practice is pretty full go. And that's the way business is done around here. But, you know, the better we practice, the better we play in the game. And I think it helped us in the long run to progress. make sure we knew what was going on. And I don't know, I'm kind of anxious because I always wanted to talk to you about, cause the two sides of the rivalry and you, you know, the bears rivalry against green Bay as a player, you know what it's like getting ready in the locker room. You know what it's like going

on the game field. You had success against them as a player. You're on the side of the rivalry as a green Bay coach and, What's the difference in the locker room before the game as a player and as a coach for the Green Bay Packers?

You know, I would say that as a player, just the intensity that surrounded the rivalry because of Coach Ditka, you know, the way he treated Packer week, you know, it was something different. You knew that this game that we were going to be playing was not your average everyday in-season game. This was something special. This was going to be playoff tempo. This was going to be full out.

This was going to be nasty, dirty. You're, you know... put buckle up your bootstraps and get ready to go and you know by the time that we got to uh let's fast forward to my coaching in green bay the the difference was that free agency was in place so there was a little bit more or i should say a little bit less identity associated with teams just by the player standpoint, because of free agency and, and guys weren't married to the team, which they were whenever I came out in, you know, in 1989. Um, so, um, you know, the rivalry was still in place for the fans and, and probably for me because of being that player.

And I mean, at least on my list, there was nobody that I wanted to coach better against than, than Chicago just because of that.

But I would.

Say that, that, Well, one of the things that that would happen in Green Bay that I noticed right away was that we had the green and gold package for the season ticket holders. And so the green package was the Green Bay crowd and the gold package was the Milwaukee crowd. Because, as you know, back in whenever you played, they played in two different stadiums and games. the bears game was always held up in Lambeau field, but whenever they, uh, switched up just playing at Lambeau, that gold package in Milwaukee was a rowdy set of fans and they would do the gold package for the bears home game. And so there was a different energy level in the stadium.

So that's what I noticed right away. I mean, from, from the player standpoint, uh, Coaching, you know, some guys are treated differently, but for the most part, it was it was another game. And and I think that the players on the field actually, you know, between Urlacher and Briggs and and the guys that were playing for the Chicago Bears at the time, they made it something special just because we knew we were going to get their best effort whenever we face them.

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All right. Ben Johnson. I say the name. What's the first thing that pops into your.

Head, Jerry? Creative. Demanding. He really impresses me.

You know, he coached in Detroit with one of my former teammates, a guy that, well, he actually played behind me. But Ben Johnson, just he has a way of. designing schemes that challenge defenses at least in my opinion um in a different way because you know he he loves to use personnel grouping which we used to use a lot of different personnel groups under mike mccarthy that was one of our weapons you know whenever we were switching uh personnel in and out defenses have to make adjustments defenses have to have to go through you know that whole process and it can be tough on a defensive coordinator so you know, with the personnel grouping that he has and where he lines players up. I mean, starting

the game this last week with two quarterbacks on the field on the very first play, I'm sure, you know, okay, defense is wondering who the heck are we going to be facing at quarterback whenever Keenum takes.

The stat, you know? I mean... It was it.

Was like genius to me because, you know, whatever they did during the week of practice to prepare to play the Bears this.

Week or the last week.

You know, I'm sure that the coaching staff probably said, look, it doesn't matter who plays quarterback. But in their minds, they're preparing for Keenum. At least I would have been based on his performance in the previous.

Week against Philadelphia. So.

I just love the way that he calls games. I love his aggressiveness on fourth down. And, you know, he's not afraid to run the ball. And as an offensive lineman, Tommy will vouch for this. I mean, there's nothing better. There's no better feeling on the field whenever you get to just pin your ears back and go after a defensive line and start wearing them down. And, you know, these guys do a great job of responding.

To his accountability, I think.

And at least that's what I see on the surface. You know, I'm not in the locker room.

I'm not.

visiting with him often about this. But I just, that's what I see. I see guys that are excited about playing football. I see guys that are disciplined in their jobs. And, man, they seem to end up on the field where they're supposed to end up, at least from my perspective.

You know, when you when you look at the Bears, they played three different quarterbacks. And so a dedication to running the ball, I think, is an important part of quarterback development in the early stages of a head coach's career. When you talk about the system that you are involved in and Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers and how long that system's been in place. Was there more of an emphasis of, hey, let's throw the ball as many times as we possibly need to? Or was there a running game emphasis when you guys installed your game plans?

You know, I think it varied week to week.

I mean, we would identify what we thought was vulnerable on a defense. And Mike was the guy that liked to run the ball, too, McCarthy. You know, whenever we were in New Orleans, he was our offensive coordinator. And, I mean, his favorite play was power. You know, let's double-team, double-team, pull, kick out, and go downhill. Let the running back get his ears back and go. You know, with with obviously with the guys that we had a quarterback, whenever I got there, it's Brett.

And then Aaron took over.

You know, those guys are so prolific and had such great careers because of the past game, obviously. And, you know, the thing that I noticed just talent wise between players. brett to aaron was that aaron just had a knack for extending the play and so we knew that if you know we didn't have the perfect call hey this guy's gonna extend the play he's gonna move his feet and make something happen and you know that was that was an added feature that you just can't it's hard to coach you know if a guy has it he has it and he has that ability and certainly aaron did but in our game planning yeah there were certain teams that we felt like we could throw the ball on. And, you know, with the crew of receivers that we had,

you know, those guys, Jordy Nelson.

JJ, you know, there were so many, so many.

Good receivers that we had that Greg Jennings that, you know, we had so many weapons that I can, you know, whatever Mike would come into a game planning meeting. And I was at that time, I was early in my career. I was part of the offensive line coaching staff.

So, I would sit in.

On run game meetings, and those would go relatively quickly, but the pass game meetings would last for like three hours. So that might tell you what his emphasis was and where they wanted to really dial in how we were going to attack teams.

So Mike obviously knew.

What we had, and he was going to give Aaron every chance to win the game.

What weights did you guys play at?

Oh, boy. I'll go first.

Whenever I came to Chicago, I was 285, dripping wet, six foot three and three quarters, Tommy. And, you know, I played most of my career right at 300. And not that I'm anal or anything, but it was 298. Like that was my weight for like forever. 14 years. And by the end of my career, my body biologically was not going to carry as much muscle as it had when I was young.

So I got down to about 285 again.

Yeah, I mean, back when you originally came aboard when we didn't have an indoor facility and you were gaining weight once the weather changed, it was more like start the season at 285 and end at 295.

And probably the same type of frame as well.

The reason I ask is because today it appears everybody's 300 plus. in some cases much larger than that if you're on the edges, even some offensive guards. Could you guys have played at that? Well, I know Tommy's looking at me like, yeah, don't be an idiot. Of course I could play at that weight. But, I mean, we're looking at guys on the opposite side of the ball.

That Devondre Sweat, Tom even said, and somebody also followed up this week with me, they went in the locker room and the largest human being they've ever seen. He's 366 pounds with arms down to his ankles. and a wingspan that's insane. Would you guys have had to alter your size to fit into today's NFL? Hmm.

Tommy, you want to go first?

I think it depends on what style of technique you're using. Because we had more of an aggressive approach that we used a snap count as a weapon and we came off the ball. I think nowadays, because of the size of the defensive linemen, they have more of this... Zone blocking. I think that we could have played in either system.

It's a matter of being able to get off the ball on the snap count and get into winning positioning. You're not going to go out there and block a guy that's 360 pounds standing with your knee straight. You're going to have to use leverage and bendability. So I would still have confidence in the technique we used, and I still.

would like to.

Believe that we could go out there and play um if we weren't 335 pounds.

Yeah i i agree i think that um certainly would have been able to compete uh for a position i well my my first thought was boy what would my durability be have been because you know playing with with guys that are of the same training aspect, of the same nutritional information, of the same scientific approach to recovery.

Because now I feel like we've made so many strides in the science.

That are able to facilitate guys getting their bodies to the size that they are today and the body composition and the cardiovascular health and everything.

Included. Right.

I feel like, yeah, we definitely would be able to compete. And maybe that number would be bigger, Jeff, you know, would be higher as far as body weight goes, just based on those facts alone. Because I got to say, I mean, with the information that I get and I do a lot of research on this and I know Tom takes care of himself, too.

Um, you know, I, I do the best that I can today.

And I feel like I honestly feel like I'm in some of the best shape of my life, just in terms of body composition and, and things like that. Um, and you know, these guys today, obviously genetics is a big.

Part of that too.

But, but yeah, my, my first thought was just durability because, you know, the impacts are greater, the speeds greater, um, and, and all those things considered, um.

That, that.

I would love to be able to try, you know, go back to like 26 years old and try.

Well, what about I mean, the thing about it, too, is we could cut guys now back then. And nowadays, they're a little bit more protect protective about those types of elements.

So if a guy.

Across from us knew that there was a threat that he was going to be cut or a second level linebacker or a linebacker, a guy was going to get approached from a wide receiver coming in to crack him unbeknownst to him. Those types of things kind of changed the online of scrimmage atmosphere a little bit as well.

So if we could have our old rules in place, it may be different as well.

Yeah, I think that, of course, that was definitely a weapon that we got to use. Yeah, you know, but I kind of feel like, you know, all of us are adaptable.

And I feel like.

You know, if we would have had to stay up and not cut block and, you know, play a different form of football as they do today, I think that we would have been able to compete. My body was obviously capable of doing the drive blocking. My body was capable of pulling and turning a field and staying high on blocks.

So it just would.

Have been a matter of, well, you know, the other thing is that we couldn't do peelback blocks either, which those were kind of fun sometimes.

Not that I ever heard anybody doing it, but, you know.

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Jerry, what's your pinnacle game in your career in your opinion? Game you'll never forget. And it'd be even better if it was bears Packers.

You know, I'm going to go off the, cause every time I get asked that question, I always think about this game because, and this is why it was monumental. I was playing for the saints, um, We, in 2000, we had a new head coach by the name of Jim Haslett. And that's when Mike McCarthy came in and that whole crew. It was in my, I want to say it was in my 10th year.

We made the playoffs.

And the way that we made the playoffs was we beat the Rams on the last game of the season to get into the playoffs. And we needed the Bears to win. And the Bears won. And so we got in the playoffs. We went up to Minnesota to play our first playoff game. And as you know, I mean, Tommy knows this. You know this, Jeff. Whenever we used to go up there in the old days, especially with the Bears. The noise in that stadium was just... It was unfathomable. Couldn't even hear the quarterback call the play in the huddle. And in this playoff game, it was as loud as I've ever heard a stadium in my life.

And literally, when we get in the huddle, it's vibrating.

Your head is vibrating.

And I'm looking at Aaron Brooks' mouth just to see the play call. And we actually won the game. And that was the very first game that... uh the saints had ever won in a playoff and um so it was a it was a special day um so that that is probably my most uh one of my most memorable.

Games how about bears packers for both of you and one maybe that still angers you tommy.

Oh, the Don McCoskey loss. I knew you were going to say that.

Before there's replay, and Dick kind of took it out on us that there wasn't replay, and we ended up losing that game.

How did he take it out on you guys? How did he take it out on you guys?

Oh, he yelled at.

Us for losing, and then when you go back the next day and you watch the tape of the game, and he's running the projector, if you were... unfortunate to have a mistake that it's just as an offensive lineman the plays never run once it's always run at least five times so if you make a mistake you get to see in front of your peers and get yelled at each and every time for it so that game will always kind of sit uncomfortably with me because of you know crossing the line of scrimmage and those guys being able to celebrate Okay.

So my most memorable game, and also not in a positive light, uh was halloween night it was probably what 1995 96 maybe uh we were playing at soldier field The temperature outside was about 33, 34 degrees.

The rain was coming in from the north.

I'll never forget, like, getting in the huddle on the field, and I just saw rain coming over the north rim.

Of the stadium, and it was literally sideways. It was the coldest.

I mean, I played in temperature-wise colder games, but that was the coldest I had ever been in my life. And it was so miserable that night. Well, based on the fact that, you know, Brett throws five touchdowns on us and we got absolutely destroyed. But that was by far the most memorable Green Bay game for me.

Wasn't that the Butkus ceremony at halftime?

Yes. Yes.

Butkus, Gale Sayers, both of them.

That's right. Yeah.

Jerry, you both won a Super Bowl. Yours happened to be as a coach 2010. Did you enjoy the process? Did you enjoy passing it forward, everything that you learned? And in the end, you won on a staff that won a Super Bowl.

Yeah, I learned a lot from a lot of really good coaches.

You know, I had a lot of respect for a guy named Joe Philbin, who was our offensive line coach, then became our offensive coordinator. Tom Clements was up there. on the offensive staff, we had just guys with a tremendous amount of knowledge. And Coach Capers, too, is a guy that I would visit with often just to, you know, hit him with ideas and see what his thoughts were.

And that was the beauty.

Of it was that, you know, he had I had access to all these guys that that.

Were prolific in their careers too. And, and so, uh, yeah, the, the.

Fun thing was being able to see how things operate it from, from the coach's viewpoint and, and get a vision for, you know, what the scheme should look like and, and how we're going to attack this, this personnel group on.

The field, uh, how we're going to, uh.

You know, make things look similar, but, you know, be able to attack different ways. And, uh, What we did, at least what I interpreted as a coach, was, okay, so we take all of this huge, huge pool of information, but we give the players just what they need to know in order to perform their best. Because if I overload a guy with information, some guys can handle it, some guys can't. One of the greatest lessons I learned was early in my career, a guy named Dave Atkins said, look, whenever you coach a player in your room, you're coaching to the guy who learns the slowest in that room.

Interesting.

Yeah, and it made a lot of sense to me because, you know, everybody was expected to perform at the same level because, you know, sometimes you can change schemes, you can change ideas on a play, but for the most part, if you're plugged in, you're expected to do that job.

And so, you know, that.

actually was was one of the guidelines that i would use each and every week as a coach um and you know we we always like to to think that we're smarter than uh at least i do um i can't speak for everybody but um you know the thing is that uh in being able to to implement schemes You know, I was around, like I said, I learned from a lot of good guys. So I kind of felt like that knowledge base that I got. was priceless.

And it was fun. I mean, look, I used to tell my players, you know, the greatest thing in the world is to be able to draw up X's and O's on a sheet of paper and go out and watch you guys do it on film. Because, you know, it's like it's giving life to an idea. It's giving life to creativity. And it was just a great experience.

I mean, just from a coaching standpoint. And I didn't have sore joints on Monday morning.

Yeah, that's fair. When you were a coach, did you listen to the play call?

And if you listened to the play call, how did you watch the play from the snap of the ball?

That's a great question because, you know, a lot of times I would watch, at least early in my career, whenever I was offensive line assistant coach.

I was up in the press box.

And whenever I would hear the play call, I would be jotting down notes. So I was ledgering every play. I was ledgering what the defensive front was, what the pressures were. And so I, I really had to focus in on what the defense was doing just to be able to relay that information to the office of line coach or the offensive coordinator, if it was called upon.

And, or the play caller, Mike.

And, uh, So that's really what encompassed most of my focus. And I could see where pressure would come if we got pressure on a play.

I could see who got beat. I could see.

I worked with the offensive line coach, so he would typically watch the offensive line. I would watch the defensive line. So later in my career, whenever I started coaching tight ends, I was on the field. So the adjustment for me was, you know, obviously I didn't have as many guys on the field. So it was it was an easier job for me in order to pinpoint my guys. But, you know, being exposed to the past game, then I started looking at the entire defensive coverage at home. you know, the pressures from the secondary and watching the tight ends to make sure that, you know, Hey, if we're supposed to, this is a five yard outbreak and route, we're going to hit five and plant our inside foot and turn. And,

you know, it was, it was a lot of fun being on the field because you get into the energy.

Of the crowd.

But I will say that it was a lot easier to focus in that sterile environment up in the, up in the press box.

So, yeah.

All right, I have two more questions to wrap this up. What's your take on the Packers? What's your take on the Packers, Jerry?

Be honest. You know, okay, so I will be honest. I haven't really watched a lot of them playing this year. I've caught some updates recently. You know, they're obviously a talented team. I know what it's like to struggle. And my dog now just came in and she's letting me know that she's hungry for breakfast. But I, you know, I'm going to say that they're. full of talent and they have, I like their coaching staff. Uh, I think they're gonna, they're gonna figure things out and, and they'll get the ball rolling the right direction. Um, that's, that's what I have to say about the Packers.

All right.

And my last one is make me laugh. Tell me one story of the two of you can share that you both were involved in sometime in your bears career, some, some events, some moments, something funny.

That's going to make me laugh. There's too many stories that you've got.

I don't know.

I don't really know if there is a funny story because when you, when, so Jerry came aboard, he got drafted to take my job. I remember getting off a bus, some city that we are in and Chuck that used to work for CBS. He puts a camera on my face and he goes, Tom, the bears just traded Jay Hilgenberg to the Cleveland Browns. And then I knew I kept the job because Jerry was going to have to move to center. And so then Jerry became the starting center.

I will say this one funny story. I don't even know if Jerry remembers this. So we were playing the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. Do you remember this, Jerry?

Okay.

Okay, so we're playing the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. And so Jay wakes up that morning with the flu. And he's just got the flu so badly that he's got to go and get the IV.

Then they actually take him to the hospital.

So Jerry starts at center and we go out there and we rush for like almost 300 yards. And we get NFC offensive player of the week. Our offensive line does. And I remember Dick telling Jay when he came back to work to be careful. Remember Wally Pipp? because because of uh the way the offensive line played that game do you remember that game jerry i.

I remember it very well um yeah and and that's so funny because you know i'm sitting down at the uh pre-game meal and i'm eating my meal just like i would on any other day and uh You know, somebody, I think it was Keith Van Horn, walked up to me and goes, hey, you ready to start today?

I'm like, what? He goes, yeah, Jay's sick.

With 104 fever. He's already at the stadium. I'm like, holy shit.

I guess so.

So, OK, so listen, in pregame, what I used to do was I would always ride with Tom to the stadium.

We would go in a cab. Earlier than everybody else.

So we get there and, you know, I get dressed.

And I'm all ready. And the temperature that day was what, Tommy? It was about 98 or maybe 102.

It was hot.

And so I go out on the field.

Like I always do, and I'm deep snapping. And I'll never forget Ditka. Got a hold of Kayser, our special teams coach.

And he goes, what are you doing? He needs to be inside cooling off and get ready. He's starting for us today on offensive line.

Kayser got yelled out for me being outside deep snapping before the game.

That was, I remember so many things because Freddie Cato made Jay go and tell Ditka that he wasn't going to play because he had the flu and Ditka told him to.

Get out of there.

And so they had him back in the ambulance up to the locker room door, load up Jay and take him to the hospital.

Get out of here. He went to the hospital.

Yeah. Went to the hospital, got all IV'd up and then he had to fly home on his own and pay for himself.

Oh my God.

The ultimate embarrassment right there.

Yes.

All right.

Well, that'll do it. Thank you so much, Jerry. Love the time and good to see you're doing well.

Thank you, boys. It's great being with you. Awesome.

Thanks, Jerry.

Enjoyable conversation as always. Thanks for bringing up some of these ideas, Tommy. Great to talk to the guys from the past still keenly interested in what's going on. I love that these guys want to give back. He did it for a long time too. Yeah.

Listen, I really appreciate where Jerry, how he came in and where he ended up going because he came in as a young man.

And I thought actually when they.

Went and drafted him in the third round out of Texas A & M, he was going to come and take my job. But unfortunately for a guy like Jay Hilgenberg, he got in some contract issues and then he ended up getting traded to Cleveland. And then Jerry came over and played center and played it really well and played it for the rest of his career. To me is when you are a Packer by roots. I mean, excuse me, you are a Chicago Bear by roots.

And then you go and you.

Coach for the Packers as long as he did, as successful as they were, the people and the personnel that he coached around. You know, I remember talking to him always before the games when we played the Green Bay Packers and he was a coach there.

It's kind of a.

Different way looking at a guy other than when he was a teammate for the Chicago Bears. But I really appreciate his commitment to the NFL, how long it lasted, and how successful he was.

Yeah, I mean, so 1989, you get in the league, and he didn't leave the league until, what did I say there, 2020?

2020?

He coached in the XFL, so that's a life of football.

And he looks great. He looks great.

And the thing about it is there's one commitment to being a player, but there's an hourly long commitment to being a coach. That's a 60-hour, 65-hour-a-week job. So it's not something like, oh, yeah, I've been a player now for 15 years. I'm going to transition into coaching. No, it's a commitment and it's a challenge. And like I said, he did a great job.

This podcast is brought to you by Miller Lite, the official beer partner of your Chicago Bears. Tastes like Miller time Chicago. Go to MillerLite.com slash BearsPod to find delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. You do know that the Packers are going to have their rivalries uniform on Sunday morning there.

You ready? White helmet.

Yes.

Some sort of vintage green jersey with yellow and white stripes and interlocking GB logo on the chest, white pants. And so, yeah, white's going to be the big thing, the white helmet. Are you ready for that?

We're staying normal, Tom.

Gives you a chance to get dirty.

You get all that white on there and that helmet and those pants and stuff. If the bears take it to them, you know, you're going to see a lot of scuff marks and dirt marks on the pants.

All right.

Here's another one for you.

I know you hate the stats that Doug often comes up with that, you know, the Packers done this.

Don't tell me Packer stats.

Just one.

They've won eight in a row in October.

Who Packers?

Yeah.

They're, they're, Their record under this head coach is 26 in October.

I don't want to hear that. But why?

Why is that? Why? What's going on in October?

They play softies. I don't want to hear that.

What would you say your level of angst is at the moment?

Oh, it's a 10. This is Wednesday 10.

And it's not contrived, people. This is him.

Are you kidding me?

I was telling Blackwell he was laughing. I said, no.

You're ready to go, man.

And I tell you, when your feet are shaking and you're always fidgety and everything, it's from now until Sunday when we get on the bus after the game. And like I said, I only want to get on the bus one way.

As a winner, Tom.

Yes.

All right, that's going to wrap us up. Thank you for listening, everybody.

Remember that Bears fans and people across the state, they're struggling to keep the lights on and put food on the table in some cases. That's where the Salvation Army steps in to make a difference all season long. Go to SalvationArmyChicago.org and make a difference today. That's going to wrap us up for the podcast. I want to thank you for listening. Thanks again to Jerry Fontenot. Please subscribe now on Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube.

Or wherever you get your podcasts. And bear down, everybody.

Former OL Jerry Fontenot talks Bears-Packers rivalry | Bears, etc. Podcast

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