Olin Kreutz is returning to Chicago’s airwaves.
The former Bears center, who hasn’t appeared on a Chicago outlet since being fired at CHGO Sports for grabbing the neck of a colleague, will be back on The Score this NFL season. He’ll co-host the station’s Bears pregame and postgame shows, will do call-in segments and fill in as a host.
“I’m excited about it,” Kreutz said. “I worked with everyone at The Score before, and I enjoy working there. They’ve been supportive through all of this, and I’m excited to work with them again.”
Kreutz had contributed to The Score for years before an incident in May 2022 when he attacked colleague Adam Hoge in response to a flippant remark, costing Kreutz his analyst job at the sports-media startup. Later, NBC Sports Chicago removed him from its Bears postgame show, “Football Aftershow.”
The incident occurred at a staff meeting in CHGO’s West Loop office. Hoge did not require treatment, and he didn’t file a police report. Kreutz since has apologized to Hoge, and the two have patched things up. But Kreutz stayed off the air in Chicago.
“I guess you could say we took a break, and [The Score] treated me fairly, which I’ve said many times,” Kreutz said. “I know what I did was wrong. Just kind of stepped away from it to see if I really wanted to continue doing analyst work and see if I wanted to get back into it. They reached out after the season, and we worked from there.”
Kreutz has gained fame for his analysis of the Bears, for whom he played from 1998 to 2010. He has blossomed into a sharp, thoughtful critic of the team and expects to continue his podcast, “The No Name Football Podcast,” with former Bears fullback Jason McKie.
“I never thought I’d be doing analyst work; I didn’t study it in college,” Kreutz said. “Especially on the Bears because for a guy who played the game, you understand how hard everybody’s working in that building.
“So sometimes you’re critical continuously of what they do. It’s not easy, but you’re trying to be honest, I’m trying to do my homework, I try to collect as much information as possible and then just honestly say what I feel. And I know sometimes that can rub a lot of people the wrong way.”
