During an appearance on the Bears All-Access radio show Wednesday night, Brian Urlacher discussed his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer and more.
The former star middle linebacker revealed that he had already started to write his induction speech and is required to turn in a rough draft to the Hall of Fame in the near future. Urlacher and the rest of the Class of 2018 will be enshrined Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.
"That day you won't hear me talk a lot about myself," Urlacher said. "I've just never been comfortable doing that. It's going to be a lot of me talking about the reasons why I'm there, people that helped me get there, my family, and just stuff like that."
Urlacher conceded that he will likely shed a few tears, especially given that fellow inductees Ray Lewis, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are all highly emotional individuals.
Brian Urlacher at the 2018 NFL Honors Ceremony.
"It's an emotional process because you're talking about your history and how you got there and you're thanking all the people that got you there and not just your sacrifices but their sacrifices as well to get you to that point," Urlacher said. "So as much as it's about you that day, it's about everyone else who got you there because none of us got there on our own, that's for damn sure. It took a lot of people to get you to that position."
Urlacher selected former Bears assistant coach Bob Babich to serve as his official presenter. Babich worked with Urlacher for nine of his 13 seasons with the Bears from 2004-12 as linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. During that span, the star middle linebacker was voted to four Pro Bowls and named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2005.
Urlacher said that he also considered former Bears head coach Lovie Smith and former Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache for the honor.
"It's hard because I played for so many good coaches, not only in the NFL but college and high school as well," Urlacher said. "It was a tough decision. Bob was always at the top of my list, I will say that. We had such a good relationship. He's like a father to me. I could go to him with anything and I have a ton of respect for him and the way he coached us."
Urlacher is thrilled to follow fellow Bears middle linebackers Bill George, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary into the Hall of Fame.
"I believe middle linebacker in Chicago is the most coveted position in defensive football, in my opinion, especially after playing there and seeing what was laid down before me," Urlacher said. "It was just an amazing place to play football."
During the interview, Urlacher also praised the Bears for the moves they've made in free agency, adding receivers Allen Robinson II and Taylor Gabriel and tight end Trey Burton, among others.
"I'm very excited," Urlacher said. "I thought they needed some help on offense. I'm excited about Mitch [Trubisky] and his future. They've got good receivers, good skills guys coming in there. Hopefully Kevin White can get healthy and be on the field this year.
"Defensively, I was happy that they kept [coordinator] Vic Fangio. I thought that was huge. Coach [Matt] Nagy's awesome. He's a great offensive mind. I was happy they hired him and kept coach Fangio as well."
