Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly "Lunch with Larry," which features wide-ranging conversations with Bears-related guests about their lives and careers.
This week my special guest is former offensive lineman Kyle Long, a 2013 first-round draft pick from Oregon who was voted to three Pro Bowls in seven seasons with the Bears. Kyle currently lives in south Florida with his wife and two young daughters. He co-hosts a podcast entitled "Pushing the Pile" and is also a TV studio analyst.
Every week I will select the best "Lunch with Larry" fan question, with the winner receiving a Connie's Pizza gift card. The question of the week can be found at the bottom of this article.
As you probably already know, Kyle is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, a popular studio analyst. I began our interview asking Kyle about following in his highly successful father's footsteps.
"I've found that as I've tried to chase in his footsteps, they just get further and further away," Kyle said. "The footsteps get more faint and more faint because the guy just doesn't stop. Not only that, Hall of Fame, Super Bowl champ and just an absolute stalwart on the desk and somebody that's a model of consistency. That's a tough act to follow, so I'm just trying to get in where I fit in."
Kyle was a perfect fit for the Bears, selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He recalled that during his pre-draft visit to Halas Hall, he was invited into then-offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer's office, where he was shown tape of just one player.
"The cutup was only [Lions defensive tackle] Ndamukong Suh," Long said. "That's all we were watching. I remember sitting there and it hitting me, the weight of the moment being like, 'Ah, I understand, this is more than just you were a good college football player. We like you in Chicago.' It was like, 'No, no, no, there are monsters out there and we need your help.' It got really serious."
Long wasted little time providing that help, earning Pro Bowl honors in each of his first three seasons, first at right guard and then right tackle. He learned a lot from veteran linemen Robert Garza, Matt Slauson, Jermon Bushrod and Eben Britton.
"Going to a group that was heavily laden with vets was exactly what I needed," Kyle said. "Not only was I a rookie behind the eight ball in terms of experience in football, my life experience was really limited as well. So those guys did a great job and I always appreciate their tutelage."
Kyle remembers receiving valuable advice on his first day of training camp.
"Roberto Garza looked at me after the first day of practice in Bourbonnais and said, 'How are you feeling man?' I was like, 'I'm feeling alright. I'm a little bit sore.' And he goes, 'Well, this is the best that you're ever going to feel, so appreciate it.' That was really good advice. Not only was he telling me to appreciate my youth, but take care of yourself."
The teammate that most inspired Kyle was running back Matt Forte, who played for the Bears from 2008-15 and is second on the franchise's all-time rushing list behind Hall of Famer Walter Payton with 8,602 yards.
"Matt Forte was exemplary in everything that he did," Kyle said. "The way that he worked and took care of his body and the way that he endeared himself to his teammates with his sense of humor and his unrelenting [trash] talking. Matt Forte was the best teammate, and just a guy that you wanted to go out there and make plays for because you knew if you could get one guy blocked, he would hit his head on the goalpost."
Kyle enjoyed the physicality of football but never stopped dreaming of playing baseball, even when he was with the Bears. A star left-handed pitcher in high school, he was selected by the White Sox in the 23rd round of the 2008 Major League Draft but ultimately decided to focus on football.
"I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you that I thought about the beautiful game of baseball every day," he said. "There'd be days at Halas Hall, on like Thursday, those thousand-rep Thursday practices where I'd be sitting there like, 'Man, I wonder what life would be like if I was in pinstripes or playing for the White Sox.'
"It's two completely different lives and you can't fully imagine what it would be like while you're in the other one. After my first three years, part of me was like, 'I wonder what would happen if I were to go play baseball now because it was always my dream.'"
Kyle never pursued that dream, instead remaining with the Bears until 2019.
Asked how he'd like to be remembered by fans, he said: "I would hope that the fans would remember me as someone who cared a great deal about his teammates and protected his teammates and his brothers, because that's really how I got started in the game of football was my younger brother went from JV to varsity and he was slotted be the varsity quarterback and my dad was like, 'It would be really nice if he had somebody that was like 6-6, 285 protecting him. And that's how I got my start."
The winner of the "Lunch with Larry" fan question of the week and a Connie's Pizza gift card is Max J., who asked: "If you were both in your prime, could you have blocked your dad?"
Kyle: "I would have given him a really long day at the office, and he would have done the same for me. I feel like his skillset was really ahead of its time. He was a guy who had the ability to play inside and play outside. He was violent, he was great with his hands, and he was such a great athlete and a runner."
In closing, I'd like to thank Kyle for discussing his life and career with me this week. I really enjoyed interacting with Kyle during his playing days and loved his demeanor on the field. I have no doubt he will very successful as a broadcaster.
