Windy City Gridiron
A retired U.S. Army officer is ready to make an impact on the Chicago Bears franchise
As attention around Chicago has rightly been focused on the recent hiring of Ben Johnson and his new coaching staff, the growing sentiment seems to be that a new era is being ushered in at Halas Hall. Johnson is certainly expected to be an innovator for the Chicago Bears, much like Team President and CEO Kevin Warren and General Manager Ryan Poles were when they were hired before him. Of course, these are all names that fans should be very familiar with at this point. However, one name that may not be familiar to the average fan is Andy Riise.
While Riise’s name may not be well known, that doesn’t make his hire any less of an innovative one. That’s because Riise, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel, was hired as the Bears’ Mental Performance and Leadership Coordinator with the goal of supporting players’ mental wellness. In such a physical sport, it may be obvious to build a deep staff of trainers and medical staff, but going above and beyond to support players mentally has the potential to make an enormous impact both on and off the field.
Riise’s work with the Bears has caught the attention of FOX NFL Sunday’s Jay Glazer, who wrote about his own personal journey with mental health in his book, “Unbreakable,” and now hosts a podcast as an extension of that book. Glazer emphasizes the significance of the mental side of the game in a post highlighting Riise’s appearance on the latest episode of his podcast:
In this new era of Chicago Bears football, perhaps Andy Riise can help raise the bar for the team’s mental performance to meet and exceed the coaching staff’s expectations. Be sure to give the podcast episode a listen to hear from Riise in his own words.
