Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Dan Wiederer sets somber scene at Halas Hall after Bears were eliminated (Hour 4)
19 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Dan Wiederer, Bears reporter and senior writer for The Athletic.
You're going to be relying on a lot of young players, guys that have to materialize into who they thought they were. The Bears are who we thought they were.
On-air contributor for 670 The Score. We'll mention this mainly because Dan Wiederer said we would mention this nugget. Host of the Take the North podcast. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Dan Wiederer.
Thanks, Coach.
We'll go first to Dan Wiederer. On Chicago Sports Radio, 670 The Score. Weezy!
So Dan Wiederer is not online with us yet because you know what he's doing. It's Locker Cleanout Day at Hollis Hall. They're trying to get the very latest. Oh, he's here now? He's done cleaning out lockers. Dan, whose locker did you clean out? As many as I could find. Honestly, guys, it's a heavy day out here, and it always is.
And you can feel the suddenness, I think, for all the guys in there that are a little bit in shock that they don't have practice this weekend in an NFC championship to prepare for. Dan joins us via the Circa Resort and Casino hotline, CircaLasVegas.com. So, yeah, I mean, we're trying to go through it and parse through it here on the show, obviously.
This is a collective activity of the city today. But to go from accepting the fact that the comeback didn't happen last night to also talking about it, I feel like there was a little bit more somber and pointed quotes from Hallis Hall today. You know, what can you tell us about just the extension of last night into today? Yeah, somber is a word, right? Like, that is a feeling here today.
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Chapter 2: What were the emotions in the Bears locker room after the loss?
It's a little disappointing that for something like this, you would like to kind of close the book on it and neatly clean it up as soon as you possibly can and then get on to the next thing. And this will linger for a little while. I don't know the next time we'll have a chance to talk to DJ more in this building. It may be
You know, in May, honestly, that's a long time from now to let something like this sit around. But clearly that last offensive play of the season is one that people are going to talk about for a little while because, you know, like this is not being dramatic. That's history changing, right? Like you are on the doorstep of field goal range.
in sudden death in overtime of a playoff game that would send you to the NFC Championship game, and it ends with a turnover, and then the other team goes down and scores. And so it's a history-changing moment for the Bears, and we still haven't gotten full clarity on kind of what the disconnect was, even though we did get a little opportunity to again hear from Caleb Williams today.
Was any new information shed at all? I was going to ask, what was your view on that play? Yeah, so this is where, you know, like Caleb's words sort of require a response from DJ in some ways. And Caleb said today that he hadn't even had a chance to talk to DJ yet about what happened on that play, which is a little bit surprising, right? Given the moment and given what it signified.
But it seemed as if DJ ran the route that was designed and Caleb was expecting him to make a little bit of a sight adjust based on the way the defense was playing. And they had a miscommunication. The ball went one place, the receiver went the other.
cam curl made an interception and that's the last snap that this bears offense took in the entire season and so like that's the micro of this right we're talking about all these macro feelings which are are super significant but that's also the micro of what makes it so significant because if you hit that play now all of a sudden we may be sitting here today being like can they beat seattle are they one step away from going to super bowl and like when you like just talking that out and sounding that out loud you feel the gravity of the whole thing now hold on for a second though
I'm sorry, but guys, this is different than what was even said yesterday, because yesterday it sounded like DJ had rung the wrong route. So if he ran the route that was designed, despite a lot of people, including former pro football players thinking that wasn't the design route, that's different. You know, can you can you speak to that context in that contrast?
Well, I didn't get the sense last night that I knew for sure that it was a route that was wrong. I think we'll get a chance to get Ben Johnson before this week is up, and that certainly will be on the list. You'll have about 75 questions that you want to get to Ben.
That's you.
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Chapter 3: How did players reflect on their season during locker cleanout?
So I was told he's not present. Do we know if he's out there? Has there been an explanation from the Bears why he didn't talk and is not talking, or are we just completely in the dark right now about DJ Moore? We're in the dark, Mark. I mean, you know, not our first rodeo. Looked like I put in a request early this morning saying, hey, it would be good to talk to DJ, you know.
And they said, you know, we'll open the locker room for an hour from 1130 to 1230. It was my understanding that he was in the building when the locker room opened at 1130. He wasn't in the locker room. But, yeah, so. Do you think his future is in question with the Bears? I don't know. I mean, that's really, really big. And, you know, they've got a lot to sort through.
And, you know, today is one of those days, Mark, you've experienced it. You know, you have conversations today with Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker who both don't know if they will ever wear a Bears jersey again on game day, right? Right. And so, like, it really strikes you when you're, you know, you're thanking guys for, you know, being as good as they were in the locker room all season.
You know, you're reflecting on the season. And then they're like, yeah, you know, this might be the last time I leave this building. You know what I mean? And so, like, that's part of this for so many guys here. I think I counted this morning 24 guys on expiring contracts, you know, that will be over in March. A lot of big decisions to be made.
And, you know, like Kevin Byard's one of these guys that says out loud, like, I really want to stick around here. I also feel like I owe it to my family to capitalize on an all-pro season and see what's out there for me.
Six or seven weeks from now, that's going to be a big deal when you have one of the core leaders of your team exploring free agency if you don't first get to him with a deal that makes sense for both sides. This is the business part of things that comes in really quickly, even as you're sorting through all the heavy emotions of what last night was.
Tell me, Dan, when you were in that locker room, what struck you the most, like if there was a single statement or an interview that you did that stuck with you the most walking out of there? Yeah, so this is where I'll start because hopefully the people in the audience that were there last night can relate to this.
The final kick of the night, that Harrison Mivas kick that ended the game last night, was one of the more surreal experiences that I've ever had in my professional sports journalism career. And to hear that echoed from players in the locker room, of the silence when that kick went in. It was honestly, guys, like someone hit a mute button on reality.
Like you were kind of looking around for nine or 10 seconds being like, literally, did someone just mute the earth? You know what I mean? Because there was zero sound in the press box, in the stands. And a few of the guys mentioned that today, like DeMarco Jackson, you know, he's like there was maybe like six people on the Rams sideline that you could hear.
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Chapter 4: What is DJ Moore's status after the season-ending loss?
And I was just curious if anything he said today sounded dramatically different or even remotely different than what you heard yesterday. Well, look, people need to understand how deeply Caleb cares about this pursuit of success. And I think that was evident this season. I think it was evident in his mannerisms last night after the game.
You still feel it today, like anybody that's been in the competitive arena knows. what this feels like can empathize with, with just like that. Oh man, I really wish we were still playing.
I know I've got to go right back to work, but you know, like even between Ben Johnson's postgame press conference last night and Caleb coming to the podium, they crossed each other's paths in that little hallway between the locker room and the press conference room. And there was an embrace and it wasn't long, but it was powerful, right?
Like you just felt the appreciation between those two guys and all that they had put into each other. And I think that's significant because I think there is a level of trust that's been built up there now that really will be a catalyst to trying to get to the next level next season.
And so I think those guys were really forthright in expressing their admiration for each other and the bond that they created here really since January of last year. And what's so amazing about that and important about that is I didn't know if those two were going to make it.
I didn't know.
You're right. You're right. We probably talked about it on the sideline in the summer when Caleb's getting sent back to the huddle because the formation's wrong and the play wasn't called right, and Ben's blowing his top, and you're like, oh, God, where's this thing going to go? And glowing about the backup quarterback and saying how they're so similar.
And now that I look back on that, was Ben Johnson using Tyson Bajent?
Absolutely.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the last play that ended the Bears' season?
But man, the business part of this thing, it doesn't wait around. And so it's going to be really interesting to see how that all evolves. Well, and unfortunately, that's how GMs get themselves into cap trouble.
Correct.
You have to be loyal to the people who brought you to the situation you're in. And one of the conversations I have with buddies in regards to the ascent of Caleb Williams is like, go look at his cap hit for 2025. Now project what that's going to be in 2029, right? And then figure out what that means for the demands on the quarterback and what the quarterback has to be.
and has to become for you to be able to sustain success year after year after year when you actually have to pay him as a top flight quarterback and what that does to the rest of your roster. And so, yeah, that's why this league is impossible. I mean, Grody and I talked a little last night about the Saturday night reaction of the Buffalo Bills and how you felt that.
Like, that was raw, and you felt that. Like, man, these guys have been doing it at a high level for a long time. and they haven't made it to the Super Bowl. And it's just such a harsh, sobering reminder of how freaking hard this league is. He said that he didn't have time to feel for the Bills game. It was Dan that was doing the talking.
Dan, was I showing empathy last night on the podcast when you were yapping about that? I don't think so. Probably not. I guess I tuned you out there. As we have to do from time to time, Dan, before we let you go, I want to... Put this Ryan Poles lens on it, because obviously he had a fantastic offseason, which is pretty much undeniable now, given what's taken place this season.
I can't even picture a world where he matches what he did last offseason with this offseason. The challenges are just so unique and different from the challenges he had with the blank slate of last year. Well, that's what I mean when I talk about the difficulty of this league. It's like you can have an amazing run, and then everybody just says, okay, do it again.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? And like, that's the challenge. Okay, do it again. Like, you got to go figure out your left tackle situation. You've got to go figure out how to add teeth to this pass rush. You've got to figure out how to reconfigure and restabilize the secondary with all the contract situations that are up there. Back there. And so it's like, OK, congratulations.
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Chapter 6: What were the major decisions facing the Bears' management?
And, you know, we play in a tough division, and I know we won the division, but we also went two and four in the division this year. And those teams are going to come back hungry. And it's just that much harder. And so that's why it hurts when you have the opportunity now and, you know, you just come up a little short.
It stinks because there's a lot of work that has to be done to get to this point.
You guys think I'm jaded. Listen to him. It's very wishful thinking that all of a sudden, poof, they're going to be back and the Bears are going to win double digits again. Well, you know what I thought of, too, is how they all seem to have the same message about that. Like this isn't guaranteed. They're not taking it for granted. This is not going to be the same group next year.
And once again, I think Ben Johnson must have also said that and that stuck with them.
Oh, no, that's definitely the words of Ben Johnson being echoed and that sentiment not lost. Here's how deep their belief is in their head coach. If he says it, they believe it. No questions asked. I mean, they have run with this guy for a full season, and it's such the opposite of what we saw from a year ago. Like night and day, a stark contrast.
And so Cole Komet, what he's saying is valuable, and it's true, and it's accurate.
We have some news. We have some breaking news. Yeah, it is. Is that our breaking news sounder? It's Grody saying it in the same phrase as dangerous game.
Brought to you by TTN.
Yeah, it's a dangerous game you're playing, Grody. It's the same voice. So, yeah, your breaking news on 670 The Score right now is brought to you by the Take the North podcast because we say so. That's right. This is from Ian Rappaport. The Lions are hiring former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing as their new offensive coordinator.
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Chapter 7: How did the team bond impact their performance this season?
Like I could have been better, but I think I knew what I was trying to do. I love his reaction to... Oh, Cole swinging a baseball bat?
Yeah, yeah. Did he score? Yes. I love that. I love that, too.
Also, let's pull back the curtain for listeners. In my experience, when a player gives you a little bit of hell like that, it's a sign of respect. Oh, yeah. Like, Jalen knows me. We know each other. I didn't feel like, oh, I'm sorry about that, Mr. Johnson. He expected more from you, Mark. He does. And, hey, I know when...
As Jeff Joniak told me once upon a time when I worked for him over at WBBM. Don't wear green. He said, don't wear green, and you can't hit a home run every day. No. It's true. Jalen, just your reaction to that game. I have a question. We're racking these up. At some point, we've got to get a montage of the seedy Jalen Johnson, like anybody else who's made fun of a question.
That's got to be on our montage list. What? It's my reel. My reel. And Weedzy, too. No, there's a collective. We want to give you some tickets to the auto show. Caller 6 to the score contest line 312-540-0670. We'll score a four pack of tickets to the 2026 Chicago Auto Show running February 7th through the 16th at McCormick Place. I think I should do this for Valentine's Day.
Go check out some cars. Go to date?
No, that's the point.
I'm going to go see the cars. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit chicagoautoshow.com. You know what time it is. Meatball time. The machine is next. Hey, guys, check out this meatball machine. Inside the locker room went long. So then fewer meatballs. But the good news is we've decided on meatballs tomorrow. So let's get through this first helping of the meatball machine.
Oh my gosh. Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson. Stop going for it on fourth down. Stop going for it on fourth down. Stop. We're bringing it back to the conservative 1990s, 2000s days. We're always going to kick on fourth down. I don't care. Never go for it on fourth down ever again. So Caleb just threw an arm punt.
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