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Bears head coach
Dick Jauron
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Chicago media outlets long for the days of Mike Ditka, a sound-bite-producing dynamo
who brought enthusiasm and anger to the postgame podium. Ditka crafted public perception
like a smooth-speaking salesman, pitching his beliefs profanely to his players and
pitching products to the public.
Dick Jauron does not endorse any products. He endorses his players, going out of his
way to make sure that every person in the organization feels important and is committed to
one goal. When he sees a player in the hallway, he asks him how his wife and children are
doing or will crack a joke, whether addressing a first-year practice-squad player or Pro
Bowl LB Brian Urlacher.
Unlike the hard-nosed, don’t-take-anything-from-anyone style of coach that
dominates the football landscape, Jauron has guided the Bears to a 10-3 record by
incorporating a model of respect in Halas Hall.
When WR David Terrell dropped two would-be TD passes against the Lions two weeks ago,
Jauron did not scold him. After the game, he did not point fingers. He is not afraid to
correct his players, but he knows when to press and when to politely keep quiet. Jauron
said he did not confront Terrell because he knows the rookie can catch the ball. It was a
matter of execution.
WR D’Wayne Bates recalled what Jauron told him when he was a struggling rookie
trying to make the team: "If you’re on a boat and you don’t have any wind,
you have to do your own rowing. The boat is not going to move on its own. It’s just
sitting there. You have to make things happen. You can’t sit back and wait for
someone else to do it or hope that things happen. You have to go out and make things
happen."
In the morning before practice, Jauron takes a good minute to speak to his players and
leaves them with a thought for the day. He treats his players like professionals, and the
Bears have responded.
"I love playing for him personally," Urlacher says. "I think everyone on
this team would say the same thing. He’s a stand-up guy. He stands up for what he
believes in, and he’s not a real talker because talking doesn’t win games.
Players win games, and making plays wins games. He tells us that. Everyone tries to give
him a bum rap because he’s not real vocal to the media, but when he needs to get us
going, he gets us going.
"At halftime, when we’re losing in close games, he’ll say something to
get us fired up before we go out. He’s always real timely. He always says something
at the right time to get us going. It seems like we respond every time he does that.
He’s awesome, man."
QB Danny Wuerffel, who just recorded a Christmas CD, doesn’t think Jauron would
draw crowds as an entertainer but realizes his value as a leader.
"If head coaching was the entertainment industry, he wouldn’t be the first
act you would want to see," Wuerffel says. "But as far as a head coach and
organizing a team and keeping composure in situations where many people lose it, I
can’t think of a better coach."
Wuerffel does not believe many coaches have the ability to pay attention to fine
details and direct a football team successfully at the same time. From observing Jauron on
a daily basis, the former Heisman Trophy winner is astonished by Jauron’s ability to
break down the micro- and macro-elements of the game.
"He knows exactly what’s happening on the detail of a 'flip eight crack'
— who’s blocking who," Wuerffel says. "He knows the intricacies of how
our defenses work. He could step in and coach any position, but at the same time, he sees
the big picture as a head coach. He sees the direction the team is going in. He foresees
possible problems that could possibly hurt the team and deals with them before they
happen."
Jauron’s low-key temperament seems to be characteristic of many Bears players. LB
Warrick Holdman describes himself as quiet and reserved. He says he has an easier time
responding to a coach who does not criticize him in public, yank him off the field or grab
him by his facemask.
"Instead of yelling and getting all rah-rah, he takes a different method,"
Holdman says. "He just tells you what needs to be done. He’s not the guy
that’s going to go in the middle of the team room and break a chair or crack the
chalkboard over his head."
Hall of Fame LB Mike Singletary was a Bear when a fiery Mike Ditka punched a locker in
a postgame pep talk and broke his hand. Singletary said he responds better to a volatile
communicator like Ditka, who moved and multiplied the endorphins that control a
player’s mood. Nonetheless, Singletary, who has created a company that teaches
corporate executives leadership skills, has been impressed with Jauron’s integrity in
tough times, such as dealing with the disappointment of former first-round draft picks
Cade McNown and Curtis Enis.
"I have never seen (Jauron) take a player who was struggling and maybe played an
awful game and berate that player to protect himself — never seen that,"
Singletary says. "And that’s a real tribute. Even before this year, there were
some opportunities last year and the year before then when he could have really, really
hurt some players and really jumped on the bandwagon just to save himself, and he
didn’t take the opportunity. He took the high road."
He protected his players, even when it put his own job at risk. He may speak to the
media in a monotone voice, but it does not detract from his ability to break down the
X’s and O’s, prepare a game plan or even motivate his players.
Unlike other in-your-face coaches who use fear to motivate, Jauron fights with
steadfast optimism and has found a winning formula. It’s helped the Bears play like
they have a chance to visit New Orleans again, like they did under Ditka in Super Bowl XX. |
