Q. Do you have any desire to coach in the NFL again?
A. I don’t think that is going to happen and I don’t worry about it that much. I really don’t think about it. I always believed that my word was my bond and I shook a man’s hand [to agree on a contract] and looked him in the eye and said, “Good.” I had that happen to me twice in my career now [with the Bears and New Orleans] and their word isn’t their bond. I had a great career. Nobody owes me a darn thing. And I don’t owe them anything. I owe my whole life to football. But I don’t owe any owner anything, that’s for sure.
Q. Did the Bears’ 49-7 loss Sunday in San Francisco bring back some bad memories for you?
A. We had a bad one, too, on a Monday night game, I believe [52-14 loss on Dec. 29, 1991]. That was bad. The dam broke [last Sunday] and there was no way to stop it. No chance. The kid [Kordell Stewart] couldn’t throw the ball, he was backing up all day. He was throwing off his back foot and he was under pressure. I don’t care who you are at quarterback, you are not going to be effective in that situation.
Q. The Bears travel to Minnesota Sunday night to one of your least-favorite venues–the Metrodome. How do you assess the Bears’ chances there?
A. It will not be easy. Minnesota seems to be responding very well to [coach] Mike Tice and seems to be playing better as a team than it has in a long time.
Q. Dick Jauron and several other NFL coaches are on the hot seat now. Can you feel their pain?
A. I have a lot of sympathy because I know how tough it is; I know pressure is on them to win. Yet the only thing ever blamed for anything is the coach. The people who bring the players in aren’t blamed. When there are wins, there is a lot of credit that goes around to everybody. But when you lose, there is only blame given toward one person, and that’s the coach. I have always made the statement that coaches coach and players play. If players don’t play worth a darn . . . that’s a lot of what I see happening in the league now.
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