Bears players saw things from two of their coaches Sunday that they have not seen before.
Coach Dick Jauron, whose placid exterior rarely slips, was as emotional after the 48-22 defeat to the Redskins as some players have seen him. His excitement after the Oct. 10 win at Minnesota was considerable, but this was visible disappointment and more after a loss, and it was strong.
“I think everybody really felt it,” said cornerback Tom Carter. “You can’t hide too much. He’s very intense, and you don’t have to yell and scream to be intense. You can feel the hurt in his voice, and we all got the message.”
Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton broke his custom and that of recent Bears coordinators, leaving the booth at halftime and spending the second half on the sidelines. He thought it gave him a better sense of the game, particularly with rookie Cade McNown at quarterback in place of the injured Shane Matthews. Crowton plans to be on the sideline in the future, sending receivers coach Mike Borich upstairs in his place.
“I’ve been downstairs a lot in the past and I felt like I needed to get down and listen to the players, to get input from them and the coaches down there,” Crowton said. “Mike has been upstairs before with me, so I put him up there. I felt like on the sidelines I could hear and listen, and I thought it would help me on the play selection because I could listen to the players.
“I kind of liked it down there and I’ll probably be down there next week all the time.”