Stars of Bears' Super Bowl XX defense weigh in on 4 topics
The Bears are celebrating their 100th season in 2019, enjoying a season full of hope while also recognizing the glorious accomplishments of yesteryear. In this look back at the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship team, the Tribune caught up with three starters from the vaunted 1985 defense to discuss that iconic season and all that made their D and that run so special.
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1. When I think about what made Buddy Ryan so special as a defensive coordinator, my first thoughts are ...
- Dan Hampton, Hall of Fame defensive lineman: He was like a father figure to me.
Look, I played for Jimmy Johnson and Lou Holtz (in college) and a bunch of other great coaches along the way. But Buddy was different and Buddy was special because of the way he handled his players. It wasn't that "He was one of us" kind of deal. You see some coaches with the "We're all in this together" kind of crap. No. Buddy had a certain authority to him. He was big on discipline. He was big on intelligence. And I'll never forget one of the times I went down to see him in Kentucky late in his life. And I said, "Buddy, you had the No. 1 defense when you were the defensive line coach with the Jets when Namath won the Super Bowl. We were No. 1 with the Bears. You had that great defense in Philly. You had a great defense in Houston. So what was the best coaching job you ever did?" He looked at me and said, "When I was 19, I was a sergeant in the Korean War and I had 20 kids that I had to take out for 20 months and I got them all back safe. That was my best coaching job."
