Best of the Bears: Drew Dalman stunningly retires
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What prompted Drew Dalman's unexpected retirement from the NFL?
Thanks, everybody. The Bears.
in Odyssey Sports Station. The score!
Olin, shout out to you. Bear down. You okay? Olin Kruitz. I always live by this. Who much is given, much is expected. College Football Hall of Fame.
And one of the great ones, Olin Kruitz, out of St. Louis High here in Honolulu. He's as good as they come down there. Six-time Pro Bowler and four-time NFL All-Pro.
How does Drew Dalman's retirement affect the Chicago Bears' roster?
The leader of the whole deal, Olin Kruitz. He's the heartbeat. He's the soul. He's out there leading the line along with Brian Erlacher, the team captain's football analyst for 104.3.
The score. I remember Greg Blotch told me one time I was on kickoff return. I played wedge as a starting center. This is back in the old NFL where the linebacker lined up 60 yards away, took off down the field, and I got hit. I couldn't even snap the ball on the next bat, remember, but I was in. I can't feel my arm. I might snap the ball, but you stay in the game. But Greg Blotch told me in warm-ups the next day, Olin, you got hurt by a guy who's one step from Kmart. Like, that pissed me off, man. Those kind of guys challenge you all the time to get better.
Olin Kroos with Spiegel and Holmes on 104.3 The Score.
What should the Bears' strategy be for replacing a Pro Bowl center?
Everyone has been wanting to hear Olin's opinion about what the Bears should do now because Drew Dallman walked away, and I hope that he's fine, and I hope that all of this was just he was done with football, and he wants to take care of himself. I've got no issue with that, but it does leave the Bears looking for a center, and they've got a lot of choices, a lot of options that they can go through. Olin Krutz now joins us here on The Score. Olin, give me your reaction when you heard that Drew Dallman retired. First of all, what's up, guys? And didn't think we'd be talking about centers this time of the year right now. Wasn't really looking at any centers in the draft and wasn't really looking at any free agents and just was kind of enjoying my offseason with the Bears offensive line and wondering what they were going to do at the left tackle spot.
Then all of a sudden, about 145 yesterday, my phone started blowing up about some questions about Drew Dahlman. I'm thinking, why does everybody want to talk about Drew Dahlman, about Pro Bowl center? for the Chicago Bears and obviously found out that he retired. And my first thought, like everybody else, was I hope he's okay. And I hope the game at the end of it all was just that it was his time. And when it's your time, it's your time, man. When you can't put the pads on anymore, when you can't go hit guys anymore, when it's... But it's all said and done for you.
What insights does Olin Kreutz provide about the center position?
It's over. And if that's what it was, I wish him the best in life and I wish him the best going forward. And obviously, this guy is a I think he carried a three point six GPA at Stanford and mechanical engineering was his degree. And he probably has a lot of options out there. And his dad also played football and I think had to retire because of a neck injury. So I'm sure they've had a lot of conversations in the dorm and halls about football and football. Make sure you can give it your all if you're going to walk on that football field. But a Pro Bowl-type center, Speeds and Lawrence and a guy who plays at the level that Drew Dolman plays at and a guy who diagnosed the field like he did and he, you know, obviously processed information at the center position and handled a lot of the protections and who was coming and who wasn't and who the line was going to work to.
And you guys remember... That after the Raiders game, they weren't running the ball very well. But then they started gelling after their bye week. And, you know, Coach Ben Johnson said they would fix it. And Drew Dolman was a big part of that, man. And the fact that he could reach guys in his outside zone run scheme, in which I've talked about many times on these very airways, that he was a specialist at. Very good football player.
How do financial factors influence early player retirements in the NFL?
I really enjoyed watching him play. I enjoyed watching his film last year. And you wish him the best. But like you guys talk about,
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What prompted Drew Dalman's unexpected retirement from the NFL?
0:01–1:00
2
How does Drew Dalman's retirement affect the Chicago Bears' roster?
1:00–1:44
3
What should the Bears' strategy be for replacing a Pro Bowl center?
1:44–3:05
4
What insights does Olin Kreutz provide about the center position?
3:05–4:13
5
How do financial factors influence early player retirements in the NFL?
4:13–5:07
6
What are the biggest needs for the Bears following Dalman's retirement?
5:07–5:49
7
What qualities should the Bears look for in a new center?
5:49–6:35
8
How does the Bears' offensive strategy impact their draft decisions?
6:35–48:00
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
Full Show — September 23, 2026
Jed Hoyer talks Cubs' postseason outlook, Alex Bregman's push to play (Hour 4)
Transition with Spiegel & Holmes
Jed Hoyer talks Cubs' postseason outlook, Alex Bregman's push to play
5 On It & Herb Howard shares a Bears report (Hour 3)
Mike Florio talks Bears' quarterback conundrum, Caleb Williams injury discourse (Hour 2)