(Audacy) Bears quarterback Justin Fields didn’t have the best rookie season. The No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he posted a 2-8 record in 10 starts with seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and five fumbles lost. He also ran for two scores with 420 rushing yards on 72 carries.
Now, the Bears are facing an uphill battle in a tough NFC North in Field’s sophomore season. Fields knows there may be bumps along the way, but he stressed that he wants to be coached hard no matter what.
Fields sat down with Dan Wiederer of Audacy’s “Take The North” podcast and discussed his desire to be coached hard, what lights his fire and much more ahead of the 2022 season.
“I want to be pushed hard," Fields said. "I don’t like when coaches try to be easy on me, this and that, ‘cause I just know that’s not going to make me a better quarterback. That’s not going to make me the best quarterback. I’ve always been like that. In college, I remember having a conversation with my quarterback coach, my last year in college, I felt like he was being too easy on me just because coming off my sophomore year highs, we had a pretty good year. Then my last year there, I just felt like he was being kind of easy on me.”
Fields transferred from Georgia to Ohio State after his freshman year. He had a tremendous sophomore season as the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title. Fields entered his junior season as the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. While the media may have been hyping him up, he still wanted to be treated the same way.
“The mistakes I was making, I want you to get on my a–, let me know and boom that won’t happen again,” Fields said. “Just coach me hard and I’m not going to take anything personal in that aspect because we’re reaching towards the same goal. We want to win games. We want to win championships. Coach me hard. Make me the best quarterback I can be. Just being coached hard. That’s just how I was kind of growing up in the South, coaches get on you this and that. Don’t whine. Just don’t take it personal because we both want to win at that point.
“I’m going to take it like a man, move on, learn from it and move on to the next."
Fields wants to be coached hard because he wants to win. All that may surpass his desire to win is his hatred of losing.
“I don’t like losing," he said. "I mean, I’ve said it a countless amount of times, last year I didn’t like that feeling of losing so many games. That’s the most I ever lost in my life. I don’t like losing. I’m not used to losing. I never want to get used to losing. Really that’s it. I just don’t like losing. I don’t care if I’m the MVP, I don’t care if I did this, went 14-for-16. If we win, I’m good. If we run the ball 40 times a game and we win the game, I’m good, I’m fine. So just that. I don’t like losing.”
Fields and the Bears know the battles they’re going to face in this season and beyond. Fields’ perspective is a refreshing one. He knows he can’t do it by himself, and he doesn’t care how it gets done. He just wants to win.
“I’m not going to be able to do it by myself," Fields said. "We always say on offense, it takes all 11. Even a part of the run game, I’m a part of the run game carrying out my fakes. I’m not going to do it by myself. Nobody can do it by themself. It’s going to take all of us … It’s not about me. It’s not about D-Mo. It’s not about Mooney. It’s about all of us.”
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