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Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show

Examining the relationship between Ryan Poles & Ben Johnson

04 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

1.162 - 6.935 Marshall Harris

This hour is sponsored by AlmostFreeTeeth.com. Affordable implants, life-changing smiles.

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7.657 - 30.939 Ryan Poles

I want to thank Ben for his dedication to this job. It didn't feel, he talks about being a first-time coach, it didn't feel that way at all. His ability to take, like he said, the words off the wall and push that to his players and see them respond was incredible. Even in some of the feedback we got, these guys were just doubling down on his message.

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31.419 - 33.982 Ryan Poles

When it got to the locker room, there was no hesitation.

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Chapter 2: What insights does Ryan Poles share about Ben Johnson's coaching style?

34.002 - 41.631 Ryan Poles

There was no gray area. They pushed forward because they believed in what he was saying and what he needed from them, which was incredible.

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42.151 - 68.624 Marshall Harris

That was Ryan Poles at his season-ending press conference. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. I almost did it. I almost did it. Everybody suggested punishments that were hilarious, by the way. Dog collar on the lowest setting from 815. Make a donation somewhere every time you say 670 instead of 104.3. Layla's from Texas. Isn't cattle prod the typical fashion?

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68.925 - 73.621 Marshall Harris

I think a cattle prod is stronger than a taser. I don't want to be the one to find out which is which.

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73.661 - 77.052 Leila Rahimi

Well, one leaves a mark that's a little more permanent.

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77.605 - 78.206 Marshall Harris

That too.

79.027 - 80.188 Leila Rahimi

That's all I'm saying.

80.208 - 85.114 Marshall Harris

But I did crack up at everybody who immediately had ideas. So that made me laugh.

85.134 - 88.158 Unknown

The cattle prod would have to say 104.3 the score, though. Yes, not 670.

88.338 - 92.804 Marshall Harris

No, not a brand. Not the cattle brand. Cattle prod is a different deal.

Chapter 3: What challenges did the Bears face during training camp?

653.772 - 658.16 Marshall Harris

I think it's fine to wear a quarter zip. I think it's fine to wear a suit.

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658.18 - 663.309 Leila Rahimi

No, it was fine that, but you couldn't ignore the look on his face. Just the body language was the body language.

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663.369 - 685.502 Marshall Harris

The body language was the body language. I think it got... Everything got... a little bit when it came to the visuals, but he's still the general manager of this team. And as we saw, it was not just his job. The Bears had to pony up the money to be able to do so, and ultimately we knew that polls still answered to Kevin Warren. So they, as a collective, made the right decision.

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685.622 - 706.485 Marshall Harris

And sometimes that's what happens in organizations. It's that one guy wants to do something the correct way, but that his boss or his boss's boss won't let him. And I'm not making an excuse for anybody. It's just, you know as well as I do. You cover sports long enough, you know that maybe this guy wants to do something, but his boss says no.

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707.908 - 726.872 Leila Rahimi

Well, now we have Kevin Warren coming in and making everything. Seemingly good on the football operations standpoint by allowing Ryan Poles to stay, making sure Ben Johnson is the guy, and letting Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen have a large say in what happens next. And year one was a rousing success.

727.032 - 740.644 Leila Rahimi

And now we're all just kind of excited for year two and what even further this team can do as far as development of the players they have and then adding whatever it takes to make the team better overall.

740.708 - 759.55 Marshall Harris

This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. If you're missing 104.3, we recommend you go over to B96 because you might be pleasantly surprised at the playlists and how they overlap. And in the meantime, we're talking about Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, thanks to a Ryan Poles interview he did on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

760.19 - 767.779 Marshall Harris

So as we asked the question in our previous segment about what's next for the Bulls, oh yeah, what's next when it comes to the development for Caleb Williams?

768.265 - 783.579 Ryan Poles

Coach is going to challenge him to be even more efficient, not only just with the operation, but just completions. And I think when you have special playmaking traits and you lean onto that mobility and escapability, I think sometimes you don't take just the easy throw.

Chapter 4: How did Ryan Poles address mistakes made in the development of Caleb Williams?

803.201 - 823.011 Leila Rahimi

Two words, Layla. Runners. Ball. I want to see more of those. And then the leadership thing. I feel like that's been... The thing about the seven comebacks is that that team is following Caleb Williams wherever he could take them at this point. Because they've seen it firsthand too many times not to believe it.

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822.991 - 846.214 Marshall Harris

I think they've matched his energy the whole time. Seth Weckersham was on with Spiegel and Holmes on Monday. And I strongly recommend you go back and listen to his interview because he talked about how Williams and his career is a bit of a slow starter and how the team took on that energy. And not in a bad way because we saw what happens at the end of these games.

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846.194 - 870.14 Marshall Harris

But that is an indication of how much they do mirror his energy. And he even talked about it throughout the season. I'm kind of surprised that Ryan Poles even brought it up because I didn't even think that was an issue. Was that Caleb talked about being consistent and remaining confident and steadfast even in late game scenarios where he felt like they still had a chance.

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870.28 - 891.712 Marshall Harris

And everybody believed it. So... That doesn't even come into question for me. I also am one of those people, and I think you know this, I don't necessarily think you have to be a certain personality type to A, be a quarterback and be successful in the NFL, and then B, be a leader. Like, we laughed about Montez Sweat saying Jervon Dexter was a leader on the team.

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892.192 - 908.233 Marshall Harris

But the fact of the matter is, Jervon, you never questioned his effort, his hustle, his attempts to get up and disrupt a ball with a tip pass. Like, you could see why that was said. It's not always correlated like, oh, this typical leader is going to be the dude.

908.734 - 921.021 Leila Rahimi

I am a big believer that there are different leadership styles and each of them can be equally as effective, whether you are a super vocal leader, whether you lead by, you know,

922.638 - 944.882 Leila Rahimi

example and just setting that daily this is this dude looks like he knows what he's doing you know the whole speak softly carry a big stick that plays and that plays in sports out of sports business whether you're in a rec league playing sports like that just plays anybody who's played organized sports knows that leaders don't have to necessarily be the most vocal on the team

944.862 - 967.073 Marshall Harris

Well, and even we were talking about this yesterday, you know, Jackson Smith and Jigba, his play is very loud and successful. He's not that way in personality. You know, he's a subtle and more like understated guy gets his point across. But you know, that's a good example. He I like the people who don't necessarily fit the mold. I find them interesting.

967.238 - 976.934 Leila Rahimi

I love a little JSN. JSN had this wonderful conversation. I didn't bring it up to you guys, where he was on with Marshawn Lynch. I saw the clip of it. If not today, tomorrow.

Chapter 5: What communication strategies does Ben Johnson use with his players?

984.306 - 985.909 Marshall Harris

We call it producing on the fly.

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986.149 - 992.74 Leila Rahimi

My halftime can work anytime. But the Jackson, if you could turn it around, the JSN with Marshawn Lynch is hilarious.

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993.108 - 994.43 Marshall Harris

Yeah, I'm into that for sure.

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994.45 - 999.78 Leila Rahimi

Because he wasn't sure about his name and hilarity ensues. You can already imagine, right?

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1000.02 - 1003.847 Marshall Harris

Marshawn. Hayden speaking to the media became the media.

1003.887 - 1013.884 Unknown

There's so much to that point, Layla. There's so much Marshawn Lynch content out there, you know, at this current moment, especially with the Seahawks at the Super Bowl. Like, oh, my goodness. It's great.

1013.864 - 1039.551 Marshall Harris

you know what else is is deep down i'm like did you know you just didn't want to you didn't people couldn't handle it is that the deal you just knew like you were too funny and effervescent or were you just worried you were gonna swear or something on the mic the man is a full-fledged actor with starring roles in movies he's horribly entertaining and when i say horribly i mean in the best way possible like he's he's funny as hell i'm gonna get too short whistle from blow the whistle

1040.527 - 1050.544 Unknown

I'm going to give Marshawn Lynch all the credit in the world, and I'm going to say that he probably said to himself, I know I'm entertaining, but they're going to have to pay me to get this. You know what?

1051.025 - 1051.646 Leila Rahimi

That's not a bet.

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