Former Coach Sees Lots Of A Bears Icon In Tremaine Edmunds

Tremaine Edmunds was the biggest free agent signing the Chicago Bears made this off-season and the biggest of GM Ryan Poles' career. It was a considerable surprise to many. After spouting for over a year that he'd say big money for "premium" positions, Poles decided to throw $18 million per year at an off-the-ball linebacker. Conventional NFL wisdom is that position doesn't hold the same importance it used to. The only reason a team would give that kind of money away was if they felt the player involved was a special case.

Bob Babich knows. The former linebackers coach worked with some of the best in NFL history during his long career, including Edmunds. He spoke to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune about his former understudy. He didn't shy away from acknowledging the comparison to another certain Bears linebacker.

And why longtime NFL coach Bob Babich used the same word as Terrell to describe his former Buffalo Bills player.

“Legit.”

Babich knows something about coaching a physical specimen of a linebacker in the middle of a defense like the one Eberflus runs. He coached Brian Urlacher for nine seasons with the Bears and introduced him when Urlacher was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Babich also knows Edmunds after coaching him for four of his five seasons in Buffalo, two in which Edmunds made the Pro Bowl. Babich believes Edmunds’ combination of potential, experience, age and physical and mental gifts make him uniquely qualified to have an impact on the Bears.

“His upside is just off the charts,” Babich said. “And because of his football character and his character off the field … I think that can enhance his chances to excel and be elite even more.”

This comparison isn't isolated.

Edmunds and Urlacher have been linked for years. Lance Zierlein connected the two going into the draft in 2018. Then former Bears scout Greg Gabriel admitted the similarities were there during an interview on the Chicago Bears Podcast.

Tremaine Edmunds has work to do in the production category.

There is no denying he has the size, athleticism, and leadership qualities Urlacher did. It's why he's considered one of the best middle linebackers in professional football. The key thing separating the two is productivity. Edmunds has played 74 games so far in his career. He has 565 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and five interceptions. Urlacher had 591 tackles, 27.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and seven interceptions through his first 74 games. While the gap isn't huge, it demonstrates how much of a beast #54 was and would continue to be for the next 108 games after that.

The good news is Tremaine Edmunds couldn't have asked for a better situation. Matt Eberflus is a former linebacker and linebackers coach. He understands how to get the most out of that position. The Bears also employ a variation of the Tampa-2 scheme, which has a long history of elevating linebackers to great success. Edmunds may never reach the heights Urlacher did in Chicago, but if he gets even remotely close, this will go down as one of the best free agent signings the organization has ever made.