Chicago Bears Mandatory Minicamp / Mike Vrabel - "A Disaster"

Summary

Forward Progress - Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: Chicago Bears Mandatory Minicamp / Mike Vrabel - "A Disaster"
Date: June 10, 2026
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola

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Episode Overview

This episode of Forward Progress dives into the first days of Chicago Bears mandatory minicamp, with Dan and Matt scrutinizing both reporting around key injuries and the shifting narratives surrounding Bears’ defense and coaching. The hosts also devote a substantial segment to the ongoing Mike Vrabel scandal and the lack of real accountability shown by both Vrabel and the NFL.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Roma Dunze’s Foot Injury and The Lack of Reporting

• Timestamps: [02:07] – [05:46]
• The hosts express frustration with local media for failing to press the Bears or rookie WR Roma Dunze on his own comments that his foot will “never be the same again.”
  • Bernstein: “The bones and the structure of my foot is never going to be quite the same and I have to get used to that…” ([02:55])
  • Both hosts note the Bears' checkered history with WRs and foot injuries, referencing Kevin White, David Terrell, and Allen Robinson.
• Take: Blind trust in team statements is dangerous, especially given how previous Bears’ WR injuries ended careers.

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2. Narrative Shifts at Minicamp: Caleb Williams, Jalen Johnson, and the Defense

• Timestamps: [05:47] – [16:58]
• Praise for Jalen Johnson (2 INTs, 1 pass breakup) overshadows discussion about rookie QB Caleb Williams’ two intercepted passes – a reversal from previous years where any QB miscues sparked panic.
• Bernstein: “It’s funny how the narrative shifted… last year, it would be ‘Caleb Williams throws two interceptions’ and this year it’s ‘Jalen Johnson looked really good.’” ([06:14])
• Insight into standout players (e.g., Colston Loveland, Khalif Raymond), absentees due to injury, and the arbitrary value attached to practice performance.
• Both hosts urge skepticism: “Anything you’re seeing here right now is kind of meaningless… until you have pads on and you’re hitting, like this, it’s just like, so what?” ([16:28]–[16:45])

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3. Khalif Raymond – Overhyped Veteran WR?

• Timestamps: [07:06] – [10:31]
• Discussion about how the Bears and beat writers tout 31-year-old Khalif Raymond as a positive influence and even “transformational” presence.
  • Ben Johnson (quoted): “He’s been exactly what we hoped for when he came into the building.” ([07:06])
• Both Dan and Matt push back:
  • Bernstein: “We need people who are going to score touchdowns in playoff games… Khalif Raymond is a guy. And I’m not saying you don’t need guys, but… all of a sudden he’s going to be transformational for the Bears? No.” ([09:05])
  • Overusing “lead by example” cliches and turning role players into saving graces is critiqued.

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4. Skepticism over the “Improved” Defense and Development Rhetoric

• Timestamps: [10:51] – [14:30]
• The hosts challenge the belief that the defensive front seven will improve simply because coaches and players claim it will.
  • Bernstein: “I don’t care what they say. I don’t believe you when you say… they’re just going to be better. Why?” ([11:11])
• Focus on Javon Dexter, who’s again labeled as entering a “crucial” year. The cycle of hyped “step-up” years is lampooned.
• Bernstein (quoting Dexter): “I felt like I needed to improve the start of the down… you’ve got to be in an attacking stance to attack…” ([13:23])
• Why weren’t these issues addressed sooner? Both agree this sounds like retroactive justification to fit the front office’s decision to keep the roster intact.

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5. On Training Camp Narratives and Meaningless Proclamations

• Timestamps: [14:49] – [17:03]
• The hosts reflect on the arbitrary meaning attached to every bit of minicamp “news,” since it’s Bears vs. Bears in shorts, and nothing is settled until real games begin.
  • “Here the Bears are in shorts and t-shirts and they’re playing against other Chicago Bears. So none of what you’re seeing is gospel right now. It’s just observations of Bears against Bears…” ([15:12])
  • Wry dig: “Careful, careful. You’re getting very, very close to telling the truth.” ([16:36])

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6. Quarterback Decisions Elsewhere – Todd Monken and the Nature of “Honest” Coaching

• Timestamps: [17:47] – [21:40]
• Todd Monken’s hesitancy to name a starting QB is discussed; the hosts mostly praise his honesty and point out the futility of evaluating QBs before pads come on.
  • Monken (quoted): “As much as I’d like to make that decision, either by someone separating themselves upward or downward… which has not occurred, and we haven’t even gotten to… pads on…” ([18:52])
• Humor around coaches who struggle with the performative aspects of head coaching and press conferences.

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7. Mike Vrabel Scandal & Crisis PR – Real vs. Performative Accountability

• Timestamps: [22:06] – [35:18]
• The show pivots to the ongoing Mike Vrabel scandal and the critical Awful Announcing article.
  • Bernstein (quoting PR expert): “This is a disaster… the lack of accountability and the entirely performative public steps that Mike Vrabel has been taking…” ([22:06])
• Lengthy, genuinely thoughtful segment debating what true accountability would look like, on both a personal and organizational level. Dan pushes for more public transparency and authenticity; Matt distinguishes between private/family accountability and public/organizational.
  • Bernstein: “When somebody says, ‘I’m accountable, I’m being accountable,’ it’s like Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo: ‘I’m cooperating with the interview…’ That’s what it sounds like to me.” ([26:00])
  • Matt: “He doesn’t need to do that [publicly], that’s for his wife and his family… The NFL doesn’t give a f*** what happened between him and Diana Russini.” ([26:00])
• Ominous speculation about a “tell-all” bombshell emerging unless the NFL gets proactive:
  • “That is going to be the bombshell… the NFL should be smarter and say we need to get out in front of this…” ([28:23])
  • Both agree nothing will bring down the NFL, but sunlight is better than cover-up.

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8. Final Thoughts: The Bears’ Perpetual Cycle of Hope and Denial

• Timestamps: [35:18] – [36:40]
• The show closes on a classic Bears note: everything is expected to be fine, until the games start.
  • Bernstein: “Oh, everything’s gonna be awesome because they have a 32 year old journeyman fourth wide receiver on their team.” ([35:49])
  • Both mock the optimism around unasked questions about Dunze’s injury: “Wide receivers can just run on their hands and they don’t need feet!” ([35:55])
  • Dan encourages actually observing player performance, not just parroting team PR. ([36:20])
  • The show signs off: “And that is Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast on 312 Sports. Forward progress is stopped.” ([36:20])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On media not following up on Dunze’s foot:
  “Especially when the Bears have a history of wide receivers with foot problems not living up to their first-round status. So that doesn’t bother anyone?”
  — Dan Bernstein ([02:55])

• On hype for backup receivers:
  “We need people who are going to score touchdowns in playoff games… Khalif Raymond is a guy. And I’m not saying you don’t need guys, but… all of a sudden he’s going to be transformational for the Bears? No.”
  — Dan Bernstein ([09:05])

• On OTA/minicamp overreactions:
  “Anything you’re seeing here right now is kind of meaningless… until you have pads on and you’re hitting like this. It’s just like, so what?”
  — Matt Abbatacola ([16:28])

• On faux accountability:
  “When somebody says, ‘I’m accountable, I’m being accountable,’ it’s like Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo: ‘I’m cooperating with the interview…’ That’s what it sounds like to me.”
  — Dan Bernstein ([26:00])

• On the NFL’s PR strategy:
  “That is going to be the bombshell… the NFL should be smarter and say we need to get out in front of this because we can’t let this happen to us…”
  — Matt Abbatacola ([28:23])

• On perpetual Bears optimism:
  “Everything’s gonna be awesome because they have a 32 year old journeyman fourth wide receiver on their team.”
  — Dan Bernstein ([35:49])

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Summary of Important Segments by Timestamp

• 02:07–05:46: Dunze’s foot injury, history of WR injuries, lack of probing questions.
• 05:47–10:31: Minicamp standouts, narrative spin on practice performance, Khalif Raymond hype.
• 10:51–14:30: Defense “improvement” rhetoric, coaching accountability, Dexter's ongoing "crucial year".
• 14:49–17:03: Arbitrary training camp narratives, meaninglessness of summer practice “data”.
• 17:47–21:40: QB competition in Baltimore, criticism/defense of Monken's honesty.
• 22:06–35:18: Mike Vrabel scandal, accountability vs. PR, NFL’s approach, speculation on fallout.
• 35:18–36:40: Closing on perpetual Bears hope/denial and unasked tough questions.

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Tone and Style

The episode is a mix of blunt skepticism and classic Chicago sports wit, with Dan and Matt openly critical of blind optimism, PR spin, and media complacency, while displaying passionate curiosity about deeper questions on and off the field.

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For anyone who hasn’t listened, this summary covers all the major storylines, critical perspectives, and entertaining banter from this Forward Progress episode—making you fully caught up on the most pressing Bears and NFL talking points of the week.

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Dan Bernstein]

you're thinking Forward progress. Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

10219219 forward progress. Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matabeticola on 312 sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

You get forward progress on 312 sports right damn. Now as we talk Bears and NFL and veteran minicamp mandatory mini camp that is open up at Hallis Hall. Ben Johnson spoke for like 15 minutes yesterday and thanks to everybody who was pointing out the fact that Was there not a single question following up on what Roma Dun had to say about his foot not ever being the same again? Where was that?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, there was not. And apparently, I mean, we're making too much of a big deal out of it because it's not that big of a deal. It's a pretty common thing. Veteran guys have injuries, they get hurt, they recover, and then they have a a new normal to them and then they just participate and continue playing. So I, I, I don't know. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Especially when the Bears have a history of wide receivers with foot problems not living up to their first round status. So that doesn't, it doesn't bother anybody. Hello. That Roma Dunes. They said, yeah, that the bones and the structure of my foot is never going to be quite the same and I have to get used to that and figure out how to work around that. And that was disclosed. And nothing. Nothing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I guess we'll just have to say maybe they haven't seen anything different to cause any concern or alarm or question. And we said that when we discussed it and if that's the case, that's what we had hoped for. We want him to be the same. We want him to have the same speed. We want him to break the routes the same way. We want him to be as effective as he was at the start of the season last year before any injuries kind of derailed his year. And if that's what they're seeing, then great. But if that's not the case, it is something important to keep an eye on. And yet I was surprised that not one person, not one asked the question,

[Dan Bernstein]

not a single follow up. You're just going to take the team's word for it? We are going to absolutely, to this point establish, well, whatever the team says, it's got to be true. Well, that's not how I was taught. I was taught very, very, very differently that never assume that the people you cover, whether it's a team, whether it's board meeting, never, ever, ever assume that somebody is telling you the truth. All always try to get more evidence, more answers, more reason for them to, to back up some of the things that are said and to say he's, you can say, oh, it's fine, it's fine, it's nothing. I don't believe you. Just like I said when I said I didn't believe you that Kevin White was okay, well, he had a broken leg and his career was over. And just like we didn't believe the Bears when they said the same things about David Terrell. Oh, it's fine. His foot, he'll recover. Fine. He, it's fine, it's fine. Okay. Well, he's out of football.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, you know, that's what I forgot. I forgot to look up because I asked you yesterday about Alan Robinson. His career kind of came to a slower end because of foot injuries and he had, he had broken a, broken a bone in his foot. Broken bones in his foot. Yeah. I don't look it all up and get the full details of it, but I know that his career came to an end based on dealing with foot injuries as well.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, that. That's how a lot of sports careers come to an end and a lot of Bears wide receiver careers. But this like. Yeah, no big deal. Don't bother. Come on, man, follow up. We need to know. Hey, Coach Rome said he's never going to quite be the same. Last time we followed up on a Chicago athlete saying he wasn't going to be the same again, it was Jaden Ivy and he. The next thing you know, you blink your eyes and the guy's guys spouting his religious gobbledygook on a literal street corner. Yeah, I don't think it's gonna happen with Roma Dunes.

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, but, you know, we'll see how it plays out and see if there's more commentary or thought from what people see in. In Rome in action and minicamp. But was looking also yesterday at what Courtney Cronin had to say about the first day of camp and she's mentioned Montez sweat kind of chasing Caleb Williams around the field. Lots of praise, more than just from Courtney Cronin about Jalen Johnson apparently having himself quite, quite the day. Yesterday was all over the place at Caleb's expense.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, it's funny how the narrative shifted because were this last year it would be Caleb Williams throws two interceptions and this year it's Jalen Johnson looked really good. He picked off two passes. Who threw him? I guess that's not an issue anymore. It's not an issue the way that we just sort of make up practice context and training camp context. And it's completely arbitrary because this would

[Matt Abeticola]

have been a panic.

[Dan Bernstein]

Two interceptions. What's wrong with him? Where's the learning curve? Why isn't Ben Johnson all over him? Put in Tyson Bagent.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, don't forget the past breakup. He also had so two interceptions and a pass breakup.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow. Okay, but that's. But it doesn't matter who threw it. Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

So more than. More than just Courtney. I saw people made comments about Jalen Johnson being all over the field.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good.

[Matt Abeticola]

She also says that speaking of Jalen Johnson, burden and Johnson one on ones are going to be something to watch in training camp. Good to see TJ Edwards back in team drills for the first time this off season. Tyreek Stevenson. DeMarco Jackson got banged up and left practice early. Colson Loveland, Khalif Raymond. They shined during team period. Did not see the following. Kyler Gordon, Anthony Johnson Jr Britain Brown, Noah Sewell, Reuben Hippolyte, Keyshawn elliott, Jedrick Willis Jr. Ozzy Trapillo, of course Neville Gallimore, Shamar Turner and James lynch of that list. Shemar Turner jumped out at me. Apparently has an ankle injury he's dealing with, so it couldn't be out there on the field. Don't know the severity of that. That was not something I wanted to see in the notes after day one of mandatory minicamp. Well, so we'll see if he's out there today or if he misses today and tomorrow as well with some ankle injury that he, that occurred, that he, he suffered during some previous session. It was said. So. Speaking of Cleave Raymond, though, Ben Johnson said this about the veteran wide receiver. He says, I do have a history with Khalif. You would know looking at him right now that he's 31 going on 32. He's got this vertical push to his game where he comes raging off the football and if you're a db, you can't help but back up. That carries over with the routes he runs. It's been really good for our route runners to see because it's really what we want to see across the board. He's been exactly what we hoped for when he came into the building.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, okay. I mean, it's kind of not what I wanted to see though, about a 31, 32 year old veteran guy coming into your system, coming into your building. I don't know. I mean, like, I don't want him teaching or to be the example. I mean, I don't know. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

We need people who are going to score score touchdowns in playoff games.

[Matt Abeticola]

It just didn't sit. It didn't. It just didn't sit right well.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then, and then you pick up the trim and there's this huge article by Brad Biggs all about how Kalief Raymond is going to transform what they do. And I'm like, no, yeah, I don't agree. I don't really think he's a transformational player. I think Khalif Raymond is a guy. And I'm not saying you don't need guys. Of course you need guys. But who was the other guy? Scotty Miller, the guy from Tampa?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I. That's just what I think. Maybe, maybe that's verbalizing it correctly, that he's just a guy. And I thought he was just coming in as a Guy. And I wouldn't expect a guy to have such a significant impact, especially on like showing guys how to run routes. I don't know. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

It just, it sounds like a coach. He's not. Stop talking about players like coaches. The same with Alex Bregman and, and all this. I gotta, I remember when they, when the, when the Cubs brought Greg Maddox back and he hated all like don't talk to me about being so de facto pitching coach. I'm here to pitch, I'm not here to coach. Like before an interview he'd be like, don't, don't even ask me one question about that. Hated that. This whole lead by example thing. He was, he's a guy most people never heard, a 32 year old journeyman, fourth wideout guy. And all of a sudden he's going to be transformational for the Bears. No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I don't get it. And it's, it's just. That's not what I want. It's not what I want to want to see or read.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, there's, there is a lot of space devoted to. I know the Bears as we know. Believe me, we know.

[Matt Abeticola]

I know. I mean we do stuff. So.

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess so. I mean I can't, I'm not going to go down, you know, too strongly on that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I will say that if there is a storyline or a theme that is continuing to gnaw at me, it is everybody reinforcing the, the defensive front seven is going to be better because it's going to be better. And people have said it's going to be better. Therefore that is gospel.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like again, it's another one of these situations. I don't care what they say. I don't believe you when you say we're going to coach them better, we're going to coach them harder, we're going to bringing back the same players. They're just going to be better. Why? How. Why should I believe you? Based on what? Who's done that before? If you are expecting Austin Booker to have nine or ten sacks, why. If you expect your Von Dexter to be better. Really, why? What's going to be different? How is it going to be different? And if it's all going to be different, why didn't you do it earlier? Because here's Javon Dexter again yesterday. He's saying the same things. He's. Well, I'm really going to concentrate on this and I know that this matters and I am going to. This is a year for me to grow. I Can help the team win. How many, how many crucial seasons does one guy get before he's out of crucial seasons, defining seasons. This is the big step up season for him. And eventually when you turn on a game on a Thursday and he's playing for the Saints and you wonder like, oh yeah, wasn't he the guy in the Bears had like six seasons that they. All of them were deemed crucial to his development.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, also too, what does that do to your coaching staff? Like, if these guys don't take these necessary steps that they're telling us they're going to take because they're going to coach them better, coach them differently. If they don't take those steps, is it because the player is not good enough or the coaches aren't good enough? Where the changes come then, and we'll bring in new guys and these new guys, the coaches will be able to coach them up the right way because they're different. And it's got nothing to do with the coaching. It's just the players. So then maybe you never had the player in the first place. But.

[Dan Bernstein]

But why weren't you doing that before? Like, how does it take lack of performance or underperformance to be like, hold on a second, now we're going to coach him. But.

[Matt Abeticola]

But that's the whole point though. If it doesn't work out that way, you can't ask, why weren't you doing it before? Because apparently they didn't know how to do it and they weren't doing it when they really said they were going to do it. So now it's like, it's all on the coaching staff. Here's coaching staff does not a coach.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's Dexter. I felt like I needed to improve the start of the down. Going back and looking at it, whether that's get off, whether that's starting all the way from the stance. That's what I noticed. You've got to be in an attacking stance to attack. In our D line, we don't like to say read. You can't be in no read stance if you want to attack. So it's about getting that attack stance and getting out of it. We're just learning this now.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I wouldn't think that that's something you couldn't work on in the. I don't know. In the. During a practice, during one of the games.

[Dan Bernstein]

What took all the time. We got to get around to this. Oh, it's your st. Come on. It all seems, after it all seems like they decided on this. Like, here's the deal. We're bringing everybody back. We know you were bad, but you were going to expect you to be better. And now that that is the marching order, everything is being retconned to fit that now. Now you're going back and finding things that you can do differently.

[Matt Abeticola]

Like, well, your demons will be better because you have better safeties. You're. You've added a young rookie cornerback who's going to compete for a job as well, too. Jalen Johnson is back to being great in one day of mandatory minicamp. So if they're better in the back end, Dan, it'll just. They'll be better on the front end

[Dan Bernstein]

of the ball longer, right? That's what Paul said. Hold on to the ball longer. And then there was this note, this note also from the trib. And this is when we're talking about the arbitrary context of training camp outcomes, where you're allowed to define everything however you want. The Bears are playing the Bears. You can take the good, you can take the bad, and there you have.

[Matt Abeticola]

Take them both. And there you have. Yeah. The facts of life.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because it says here on the on Jalen Johnson's the first of two picks, Caleb Williams heaved the ball to Khalif Raymond, but it appeared they weren't on the same page. Was that a pass that got away from Williams, who later threw a dart to Raymond, or miscommunication? Raymond said that type of stuff just comes with work, practice and repetition, you know, so it's hard to say. It's early right now. It's hard to pinpoint a lot of this stuff. But that's what you have camp for. That's what you have the extra reps after practice for. We've been talking about a few routes now, just how he envisions it. So that was one of the Jalen Johnson picks with which you led this episode. And here it's under the headline. Work continues on Caleb Williams's accuracy. All right. You know what I mean? Like that it's perfect. It just encapsulates everything perfectly. Here the Bears are in shorts and T shirts and they're playing against other Chicago Bears. So none of what you're seeing is gospel right now. It's just observations of bears against bears and there's going to be some good and some bad.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, I. You could even take it one step further, and anything you're seeing here right now is kind of meaningless.

[Dan Bernstein]

Careful, careful. You're getting very, very close to telling the truth.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, we don't want to do that so careful.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Like, until you have pads on and you're hitting like this. It's just like, so what? So what?

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm still. Believe me, I'm still excited about this Bears team. But it doesn't. It doesn't mean that we throw out our skepticism, our criticism, our curiosity, and our responsibility to find out if any of this stuff that they say is actually true.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. And particularly the fact that they didn't do anything to address

[Dan Bernstein]

the glaring weakness.

[Matt Abeticola]

Weakness on the defense. And it's not just us saying that. Everyone's saying it except the Bears and Kevin Warren. Hey, your guy, Todd Monkin.

[Dan Bernstein]

What now?

[Matt Abeticola]

No. Why is it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why is it gonna be you're about to say bad things about my guy Todd Monkin? Because there's going to be a joke about him getting his haircut under the bridge and missing the coach's photo?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, he's.

[Dan Bernstein]

I went to get my haircut for the coach's photo, and I was getting my haircut and I missed the coach's photo. Is that irony?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, the troll was busy, so he had. He had to wait. He's most likely he is not going to name a starting quarterback at the conclusion of minicamp. I guess his goal was to name a starting quarterback by Thursday, which is tomorrow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, he's the coach. He can name one whenever he wants,

[Matt Abeticola]

but he feels like he might not be able to. Once we get to the fall, we'll have to dissect the reps how we see fit. I just don't see it after the way Shador has played and desean's played. They both played well enough to earn the right to compete to start.

[Dan Bernstein]

Earn the right to compete? Being on the roster gives you the right to compete.

[Matt Abeticola]

I would have hoped to name a starter, but I like both of them. I don't know what to say. It's really as simple as that. I like both of them. And we haven't had the pads on. That's the hard thing. As much as I'd like to make that decision, either by someone separating themselves upward or downward, either way, which has not occurred, and we haven't even gotten to practicing against an opponent, putting pads on, having a controlled scrimmage, or playing preseason games, I'm not there yet. That's the reality of it. Okay. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. I guess what he's telling what I'm doing damn well ready. I'm going to tell you.

[Matt Abeticola]

But how dare he need to see them in pads against an opponent and hitting in Real calls and real defense. How dare he? Wait, did he just see that?

[Dan Bernstein]

Did he just come very close to telling the truth?

[Matt Abeticola]

He did, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can't tell you anything. You tell me. I don't know what's going on out there. You watch them, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

They're in shorts and a T shirt, throwing footballs around. Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're just. It's a walk through. What do you want?

[Matt Abeticola]

They both look great. As well as they should. Both look great. Nothing's happening, Todd. But. But to set up, I was hoping. I was hoping to name a starter by Thursday. Based on what?

[Dan Bernstein]

I was hoping to see more from them running around in this. Not like how many training camps you've been to, how many OTAs you've been to.

[Matt Abeticola]

Come on.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, Todd, buddy guy.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is he still your favorite?

[Dan Bernstein]

I've committed to it.

[Matt Abeticola]

So he. Yeah, he's still the first guy getting fired.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I know. You think it's Mike LaFleur?

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm gonna go with Michael Floor.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. The other LaFleur.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, the other guy. All right, you stay with it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I'll take Todd Monkin. I just. He. I think he's too honest for his own good. And I'm just. I'm getting Vic Fangio vibes from him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it might. It might go that route. I hope you're wrong, because I. I like him.

[Dan Bernstein]

I like him, too. I'm just getting Vic Fangio vibes where he's going to realize what he got himself into, and he's going to be like, Vic, one of these guys who just doesn't want to bother with being a head coach. Like, you think your whole life you're supposed to go. And maybe he just wanted to say, I want to. I want to try it. I want to see if I can do it. And then I'm going to go back to my. What I really am meant to do, and that is just coordinate offenses. And there's nothing wrong with that. That. Some people love doing that, and it's what they should do, and they spend their whole lives doing it, and it's fine. And you want to be Dick LeBeau or you want to be one of these longtime guys. That's.

[Matt Abeticola]

But.

[Dan Bernstein]

But it's like, oh, I tried head coaching. This is a pain in my ass. I don't. Like. I. I just don't think he's got the ability to. To deal with or.

[Matt Abeticola]

And.

[Dan Bernstein]

And also produce a lot of the bullshit that coaches have to produce.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, he seems like he just doesn't want to be involved or Be or participate in that. In that. Right. I mean that's what I feel about Dennis Allen too.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's the vibe I get. Well, Dennis Allen also was bad at it, so.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I know, but he gives me the vibe too. He just, he's not interested in doing all the stuff that's required as a head coach. Where Ben Johnson seems to at least put on a good face to seem like he enjoys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh no, Ben Johnson loves talking to the media. He likes talking. Not a lot of these guys do. Yeah, I don't think, certainly, certainly your guy Mike Vrabel and Awful Announcing posted a very interesting piece where they talked to a crisis PR expert just about and the word she said this is a disaster. That what they've chosen to do so far with the complete lack of accountability and the entirely performative public steps that Mike Vrabel has been taking while saying in this piece. She noted that he keeps saying, well, I've had all kinds of private conversations. That's not accountability. Admitting you did something wrong and admitting you need to change because you, you failed in a way you did something wrong is part of accountability. Believe me, I learned a lot of this stuff. And, and it's understanding that it's not just a one time thing, that knowing you have to be accountable and keeping yourself accountable and knowing when you screw up and confronting those things is part of growing. It's part of a, part of improving how I was, I was talking about my therapist yesterday, had a great therapy session yesterday came out of it and I never know where, where that plane's going to land. Came out of that hour. Really, really feeling good. And I just, if you, if you're curious about therapy or you're, you're worried about it, again, it's medicine and it is sometimes irreplaceable. It's just as important as your regular physical checkups or going to the doctor and to, to articulate some of the, the, the, the strengthening feeling and the liberating feeling of finding things in therapy, unearthing things or connecting things like oh, if I responded that way, where it looks like I'm responding because of this, but it's not, but I'm actually responding because of something ancient. And that has nothing to do with it, but it's coloring why I respond that way to this particular stimulus. And they're like, oh. And it's, it is so liberating and so interesting to have a professional who is smarter than you are and better trained than you are tell you why you think certain things and how you react certain ways and then give you tools for how to change that behavior. It's. It's fabulous. And so this. And I get it when somebody from the outside can say all Mike Vrabel has to do, just be a little vulnerable and everybody would lap it up. It's okay to cheat on your wife. If you're a coach, you don't get fired for that. It's not some sort of mala. Inse. Horrible crime in and of itself. It's not. You don't. No one's gonna fire you for it. Just be a little vulnerable because no one's buying this. Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

But.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

But here's what I don't understand about. About that piece too, and about her comments. And I don't disagree with anything you said. I don't disagree with what she said. But what. What does. What would Mike Vrabel need to do in behind a microphone to show that he's being accountable? Because for me, there's two sides of it, Dan. There's the personal side with his wife, which he doesn't need to do in front of a microphone for me. He doesn't need to do it publicly for anyone. He needs to do that for his wife and his family. And maybe he's done that. Maybe he's doing that and maybe that they're in a better place and working towards something better. And as a husband, he's on a path of becoming the best version of himself as a husband.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why? Why is he becoming the best? He hasn't admitted to anything.

[Matt Abeticola]

But. But again, because he doesn't need to do that publicly, though. He doesn't. He doesn't need to do it publicly. That's for his wife and his family in his home. The football side of it, he's never going to do because no one's going to hold him accountable because the NFL doesn't give a fuck what happened between him and Diana Rossini.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just think his saying. He literally said, I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about what accountability. And here I think the more important point that was made in that piece is what I was trying to say earlier. The idea of being accountable can't just be about this. It can't just be because you got caught. It can't just be, I did, I misstepped, I made a mistake, I acted badly, and therefore I'm now accountable for that. Now let's get back to this, and I can get back to all the stuff. And it isn't It's a change. It's hard. It's really hard. But it has to be an actual change and not a performative one. And when somebody says, I'm accountable, I'm being accountable, it's like Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo saying, I'm cooperating with the interview. I'm answering your questions. I'm cooperating with the interview. That's what it sounds like to me.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And I, and I get that. And, and again, you're not, you're not wrong on that. But what, what the, the change he needs to make is something that we don't need to see because it's not part of our lives.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I'm wondering, too.

[Matt Abeticola]

He doesn't need to show me or Patriots fans the changes he's making in his own life, within his marriage, for his wife. That's, that's for them, for his home, for their marriage. Dan, it's the, the, the business side of the NFL thing that we're never going to be satisfied with this because the NFL just flat out doesn't care because they either they know already who else was impacted, involved, where, where this goes, or they, they, they don't know and they just, and they don't want to find out. That's why we're never going to be satisfied with the business side of it as far as the football is concerned.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, if and when, more likely when her tell all drops, that's the only

[Matt Abeticola]

thing I'm going to say that, that, that is going to be the bombshell, possibly that the NFL should be smarter, smarter than, and say we need to get out in front of this because we can't. We can't let this happen to us. We need to be proactive.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's coming. That's coming.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think that's going to happen. I think she's going to open up to someone somewhere and tell the story and tell everything, and it's going to do more damage to the NFL because the NFL is staying quiet and hoping it all goes away like Mike Vrabel does.

[Dan Bernstein]

Until there is that kind of transparency, it's just going to remain a question. And he just, he just comes off as something less than real. I don't know if it works internally. I don't know if it matters internally, but there's. There. It feels unresolved.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. And, and I think the NFL and the powers that be and the billions of dollars that are involved, I wouldn't put past, I wouldn't put it past the NFL doing Something to negotiate, navigate a path for her to end up somewhere in a soft landing with some type of job or finances where. Where that tell all thing doesn't happen. Because, Dan, there's enough out there on social media online from other NFL people saying there are things that have happened. That one, that, that woman, that was the reporter fired from USA Today, Chrissy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yes. She's trying to make the most of this.

[Matt Abeticola]

I know she is. But she's also sharing. Hey. That there are other people out there too. So I either that's going to come out and the NFL is going to be made worse for it because they didn't do anything, or it's going to stay hidden and covered up and just be a little blip of noise somewhere from a fired USA Today reporter because something's going to happen that's going to navigate a really easy path for Diana Rossini to not do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you think eventually they're going to buy her off somehow and say in exchange for not embarrassing the league, we're going to set you up with something possibly.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, that wouldn't, that wouldn't surprise me. Would that surprise you with the billions of dollars that are there? Because, I mean, that's. And really, at the end of the day, though, if it does come out and she says, yeah, I did this. I influenced this vote. I did that for Mike, I did that for the Patriots. I did this. Is it going to bring down the NFL?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is it going to look bad on the NFL for a while?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Are people going to stop watching the NFL?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Our college kids going to say, I don't want to go play for that league now? No. And at the end of the day, what's really going to do?

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Well, it's. Unless there's stuff that we don't even know that she's got about their relationship and what she would share about her meteoric rise and how that was fueled by some insider stuff that may affect the competitive balance that. That, that would be. That would. The real wild card is is there anything that was going on in the reporting of things that changed NFL balance of power because of a sexual liaison?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And I just, I don't think the NFL really cares because if they, if they did care, they'd be doing something about it and they're not. They don't even seem interested in looking into it. That's between Mike and his wife. And, you know, we're going to move on and play football now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Could be.

[Matt Abeticola]

And, and anybody else who has questions should just do the same, move on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, there are those of us who are allergic to being told to move on.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I know. Oh, no, I. I get it. I get it. And I'm right with you. I mean, I. I would love for the NFL to investigate and understand what areas of NFL business their relationship impacted. I'd like to know that. And because I just. Because I'd like to know the truth. And I'm curious to know the truth.

[Dan Bernstein]

Tell the truth.

[Matt Abeticola]

You know, I'm curious about that. And even if it comes out, it was like, oh, God, it influenced this trade or that or this season or that. I'm not gonna not watch.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not. It's not some wound from which the NFL can't recover, which is. Which is all the more reason.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's all the more reason to do it.

[Dan Bernstein]

All the more reason to.

[Matt Abeticola]

Just. Because you're not going to take down the NFL because of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Just get it out there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Say. Say the stuff. Tell people what it was. Let everybody say, oh, it was that. It was that. It was that. Okay, fine. It's not that big a deal. Now we know, and we'll move on and.

[Matt Abeticola]

Or let people make their own decision.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, it also takes away her power, too, where if Mike Vrabel and his relationship is. He feels he's got the sword of Damocles that will be held by a thread over his head. The one way you strip that power that she's got, if you take away her whole payday, if you say, here's my side. Here. Here's. Here's what really happened. Here's what we did. Here's when we started in together, and it was, you know, there was. It was a hot fling for a long time, a big side thing, and whatever you want to talk about, share it. And then. And then you don't have to worry about anything. That just immediately negates all of your concern about what's she going to say? Who's she going to sell it to? Is it going to be dribs and drabs and episodes of some reality podcast or however it could be done, however she's going to mon.

[Matt Abeticola]

You're right on that. And maybe, I mean, you know, you. That's a. It's a fair point to make and ask, why doesn't he just do that?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, here you go. Here's what happened.

[Matt Abeticola]

Maybe he knows that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's what happened. That was done. But he could say, but the real growth, all the stuff about accountability and counseling and if you, if you want it to be real, instead of going to your wiener counseling to say, well, I'm really going to be talking about the draft, but I'm gonna miss a day of the draft because this is important and the whole thing and, and keep dragging your whole family through it. You can, you can keep doing the performative stuff or you can say, here's what really happened. Here are the mistakes that I made. Here's what I didn't understand. Here's how I need to grow. Here's how I'm going to be different. Break. Let's play football.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, no, you're right. Okay, I see that.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just, I just think it's. That there's freedom in that. There's so much freedom in the vulnerability.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And, you know, but on the, again, the home, there's two sides of it. The NFL side, the, the home side. And if he's done that, genuinely has done that at home, that is a level of freedom and relief that, that he is already experiencing. And, and, and the rest of the stuff, the NFL stuff just pales. And if he's being honest about the love for his wife and his family and wanting that to move forward and continue on, then the relief he's feeling by being vulnerable and accountable, if he's done that at home, all the rest of the stuff fails in comparison. And it's mean. It's meaningless to him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. Bears are heading out to the practice field once again. And then we can root for the defense to be good, and that means the offense is bad or the offense is good and that means the defense is bad. But no matter what, everything will be fine in the world of the Bears because everything's fine in the world of the Bears until the game starts. Okay. I guess they've, they've identified what's wrong with Javon Dexter and Khalif Raymond is

[Matt Abeticola]

here to save everything and make everything better.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, everything's gonna be awesome because they have a 32 year old journeyman fourth wide receiver on their team.

[Matt Abeticola]

So yeah, we'll get.

[Dan Bernstein]

And there's. And don't ask about Roma Dunes and his remodeled foot that he has to figure out how to use again because wide receivers can just run on their hands and they don't need feet.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, that's all we'll see. If anyone asks today if it's maybe

[Dan Bernstein]

get around to it, maybe just say

[Matt Abeticola]

hey, or, you know, I would like to see, I would like to maybe hear, you know, some thoughts about how he looked on the field. That would be maybe helpful.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good. Idea. Like, observe what he actually does. Yeah, that'd be nice. And that is. Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast on 312 Sports. Forward progress is stopped.

[Matt Abeticola]

Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.