For the first time, the NFLPA awarded report cards for all 32 NFL teams, grading various parts of the organization from the players’ perspectives. For the most part, the Bears earned glowing reviews, but they fell short of expectations in a few areas.
The NFLPA surveyed 1,300 players across the league to put together their report cards and help players “make important career decisions, but also help raise standards across the league.”
We’ll go through all of the Bears’ grades, in order of best to worst.
TRAINING ROOM - A+
The Bears earned top marks for their training room, especially for having enough hot tubs and cold tubs for all the players to enjoy. The vast majority of players commended the amount of training staff and the size of the steam room and sauna.
LOCKER ROOM - A
Players on the whole said the locker room was a high-end facility. Makes sense, considering the Bears finished a huge renovation at Halas Hall to make their facilities state of the art in 2019. Almost all the players said they had enough space in the locker room.
NFL
WEIGHT ROOM - A
The Bears said they feel like they have one of the best weight rooms in the league, which is important to make sure all the players stay in peak physical shape. Every player polled said the team has enough strength coaches for the team.
STRENGTH COACHES - A-
After reading the weight room rating, this one is no surprise. The Bears said they believed their strength staff “significantly adds to their success,” and every respondent said they believed they receive an individual plan for their needs.
TRAINING STAFF - A-
Not much was said about why the Bears training staff earned an A-, rather than a higher score, but it was noted that the players felt the trainers significantly added to their success.
TREATMENT OF FAMILIES - C-
The Bears got dinged here for being one of only 11 teams in the league that do not offer childcare. Further players felt the Bears “provide the bare minimum to say they do things for the families, but they do not actually try to take care of them.” The Bears do offer a family room at games, but the postgame gathering area for families was rated 23rd in the league.
TEAM TRAVEL - C-
Only 78% of players said they had enough space to spread out when they hit the road. That’s probably because the Bears are only one of seven teams who do not offer first-class seats to their players.
FOOD SERVICE/NUTRITION - D+
The Bears offer players three meals per day, but the team earned a very low grade because the players don’t think it’s very good. The quality of the food was ranked 22nd in the league. Further, complaints came from the timing of the meals and the quality/healthiness of the food before practice.
Bears coaches didn’t receive a breakout grade, but the NFLPA noted players held “generally positive” opinions about Matt Eberflus and his staff. However, there was some criticism.
“One major problem identified was the overall tempo and intensity of offseason workouts, which was reflected in an actual violation and punishment last offseason,” said the NFLPA report, referring to the Bears losing out on one OTA last year due to too much contact during the summer program.
Apparently the H.I.T.S. program wasn’t a hit with everyone.