Bears TE Marcedes Lewis on Caleb Williams, qualities of a good coach and Year 20

Chicago Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis recently received a call from his college position coach, Jon Embree, who now coaches the Miami Dolphins tight ends.

Man, watching your film, youve still got it, Big Dog, Embree told him.

Lewis is about to play his 285th career game.

Hes about to finish his 19th season.

Hes been a captain.

Hes played nearly 20 percent of snaps.

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He plans to get to Year 20.

I knew last year, he told The Athletic .

Obviously, 19 (seasons) is amazing.

Twenty would be a great capstone for that portfolio.

I mean, I put some good s on film.

I come to work every day and do my thing and try to lead from the front as best as I can and handle everything in my control to the best I can.

I feel like Ive earned the right to compete for one more.

Lewis expressed the same sentiment at this time last year and returned to the Bears for the 2024 season.

He certainly didnt expect to be talking about a 4-12 team approaching a head-coaching search, but no one in the locker room would have a better perspective on the season, and whats to come, than Lewis.

I think the most challenging part is knowing we should be better, Lewis said.

At the end of the day, its the NFL.

...

But I just feel like the most disappointing part is the things that we can control, we havent done as a team, collectively our best at controlling it, and you cant get that back.

You cant get that time back.

GO DEEPER Bears' biggest disappointments, Ryan Poles choosing head coach, mailbag, Week 18 picks When Lewis was a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006, Caleb Williams was a toddler.

Lewis locker is a few stalls down from his quarterback, who is 17 years his junior.

Obviously, hes talented as f.

Like, hes definitely different, Lewis said.

As far as the rookie class coming out last year, probably the most talented (at) throwing the ball.

Whats allowed Lewis to play to age 40 and plan on a 20th NFL season is his routine, his preparation, everything he does off the field to allow him to earn a spot on the field on Sundays.

Thats reflected in his outlook for the Bears rookie quarterback.

Now the challenge is going to be, how much can you grow from this year and how fast can you do it? he said.

Thats going to be all work ethic.

Your process, your routine how much can you tweak it? What can you add? What didnt work? ...

And how much mind can you pay football outside of the building? Its when you go home, what are you doing? In the dark, what are you doing? Advertisement How well he handles that is going to determine what hes going to do for the rest of his career.

Lewis said hes talked with Williams about the future and what it takes to lead a franchise.

Hes a guy that wants to be great and now its just about putting in the work, Lewis said.

Lewis rattled off the lack of stability he experienced in Jacksonville two owners, two GMs, five head coaches.

It was so much turnover, he said.

I was able to do some really good things, but had I had one quarterback for at least eight of my 12 years, Id probably have 70 percent (better) numbers, right? Or if we had just one GM, like all that s just trickles down.

You would think the front-office stuff doesnt bleed into the team and all that.

But it does.

Its inevitable to think about it.

As the Bears seemingly endless search for stability reaches another offseason of change, Lewis offered the traits he finds important in a head coach hes been with 10, counting interims.

Honest.

Selfless.

And they can associate with all types of players, meaning different learning styles, ages, cultures, he said.

Somebody that has an open-door policy and is willing to teach, because I think development is one of the most important things.

And if somebody is truly a good man like, I dont mind a tough coach.

If youre a good man, I dont mind.

But if youre a nasty dude and just a bad coach, thats not a good combination.

People want to feel loved and most people just want to be led.

So if you can kind of marry those two, youll get guys that want to run through the wall for you.

GO DEEPER Bears mock draft: Finding O-linemen and pass rushers in Rounds 1-2 Sunday, as Lewis steps on the field for game No.

285 which is already the NFL record for a tight end and eighth all time for a non-kicker or punter hell face his former head coach, Matt LaFleur.

Hes one of the smartest dudes Ive ever been around, Lewis said.

From an Xs and Os standpoint, of course.

But more so how to attack teams.

When considering the Bears situation and the desire around the league for head coaches from an offense background, Lewis pointed to his experience in Green Bay.

Marcedes Lewis GOT UP @MarcedesLewis89 @packers pic.twitter.com/vyr9RLHcY9 The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 28, 2020 Lets just say if you have an average quarterback back there and you put him in Matts system or (Kyle) Shanahan or whatever, theyll be successful, let alone a guy like Caleb, he said.

So as it pertains to the Bears and what this offense is built for, I think it would be amazing.

Especially after getting Caleb No.

1 overall, you want to get somebody to have the acumen to kind of grow with the quarterback as he ascends into his career and does great things.

You want that perfect marriage.

Advertisement What made LaFleur special, per Lewis, is that he exuded both the qualities of the cliched leader of men while also knowing how to beat defenses.

Matt would literally put me, Davante (Adams), (Aaron Rodgers) aside and be like, What am I doing wrong? How was the team meeting? What could I change?' Lewis said.

Like literally for the first three years I watched Matt grow.

You could tell he was smart as f and he understood ball.

But as far as being able to grab the players and associate with the players, he was just trying to figure that out.

He asked all the questions and was very vulnerable.

We respected that and loved that.

And it became this great marriage throughout the team.

We all felt that like, the head coach is vulnerable as s, right? How could you not want to play for that? GO DEEPER Switching sides in the Bears-Packers rivalry can be painful ...

or rewarding Some vets in Lewis position and there arent many, hes a bit of a unicorn as someone still playing the game from the 2006 draft might ask to leave a team thats in last place for a shot at a playoff run elsewhere.

Lewis said thats not something he considered.

The universe has its way and Im very grateful for the moment, he said.

I believe that Im here for a reason and I dont look past that.

I see things for what they are and I take it one day at a time.

Despite the losses, he said its been one of his favorite years because of the relationships in the locker room.

Its a running joke that Lewis is definitely the old man, but he takes that as a compliment.

Think about it, if youve got young guys making jokes about you because youre still playing a young mans game, thats great, he said.

Seeing the way the tight end position has changed during Lewis time in the league, the former UCLA basketball player sometimes lets his mind wander.

What if a team that wasnt run-dominant drafted him? What could he have accomplished if he was drafted, say, five years later? Advertisement But that forced him to become the player he is, which has given him 19 years in a league where thats unheard of.

I have an opportunity to play a 20th year and I feel amazing, he said.

I dont have weird injuries (knocks table three times).

I dont miss games (knocks table three times).

Im durable.

Well see where Year 20 takes place, but Lewis still believes in his teammates in the Bears locker room being the type who can come together to help get things right after a season to forget.

Theres good men in the locker room, he said.

Its just a shame.

The goals that we set out for didnt happen.

And thats life.

Youre not going to win them all.

Its not going to be easy.

But the ones that can stay steadfast through everything are going to end up where youre supposed to be when youre supposed to be there.

And Im a testament to that.

(Top photo of Marcedes Lewis: Christian Petersen / Getty Images).

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