NFL combine interviews usually reveal front offices asking questions of prospects that range from awkward to awful.
But I have to declare that what the Chicago Bears are doing at the 2023 event in Indianapolis is a good thing: They’ve put in a dart board and a putting green in the interview room.
Why?
“We wanted to see their competitive side come out of them,” GM Ryan Poles said to Good Morning Football‘s Peter Schrager. “So we were talking before we got here, and [head coach Matt Eberflus] was like, ‘What can we do to loosen the guys up and see if they’ve got a little competitive juice to them?’ So we decided on darts and putt putt.”
The @ChicagoBears want to find the most competitive guys at the #NFLCombine, so they're playing darts and putt-putt with prospects.
GM Ryan Poles and HC Matt Eberflus talk the Combine, 1st overall pick plans, and Justin Fields with @PSchrags. (via @GMFB) pic.twitter.com/u93KlPWTS6
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 2, 2023
Loosening them up AND seeing how competitive they are? I like it. Chess, not checkers … or in this case, darts, not … not darts.
South Carolina DT Zacch Pickens said his meeting with the Bears began with putt-putt and darts pic.twitter.com/6u2PwZejGO
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) March 1, 2023