Richard Hightower is the only Chicago Bears coordinator retained after the disastrous Matt Eberflus era ended in Chicago. Though he may not be a household name, special teams coaches rarely are, even though the phase of the game they oversee is just as important as the other two.
Fans usually only notice special teams when things go exceedingly well or catastrophically wrong. When the finer details of punting, field goals, and returns are correctly done, the very presence of them fades into the background of the offense vs. defense battle.
"I think with us playing in our stadium in the wind conditions that are always there along with the weather, I mean, both teams got to play in it. We have to make it an advantage for us."Richard Hightower
Why Environment Still Matters
Playing football in Chicago in December and January is cold. Really cold. For those of you who aren't from Chicago or aren't aware of where Soldier Field lies, it's right on the edge of Lake Michigan.
The cold wind coming off the lake, on an evening in January, is something to behold. Nobody on the Bears' main coaching staff is more adept at understanding the conditions at Soldier Field, and Hightower has a solid grasp on this concept.
"It’s not an advantage for us if we don’t take advantage of it."Richard Hightower
Familiarity with the conditions in a stadium is a must, but it's even more of an obligation to create the advantage for yourself when the opportunity arises, and that's precisely what Hightower is driving at. Playing in cold temperatures and windy conditions can be an advantage, but not unless a team can make it so.
The 2025 Bears have proven that destiny is something you make for yourself, even if some will dismiss their success as luck or strength of schedule. At this point in the season, those explanations stop mattering because what comes next will be decided by preparation, execution, and how well this team turns opportunity into control.
As the NFL regular season comes to a close, so does the NFC seeding. It's most likely the Packers will make a rare second visit to Soldier Field for their Wild Card game, and that has both positives and negatives. On the one hand, the Bears have proven they can win in those conditions. On the other hand, those advantages we talked about earlier go out the window against another Midwest cold team.
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At the end of the day, the Bears are in charge of their own fate. Chicago fans trust this system, they trust this quarterback, and they trust this team. The NFC is truly wide open, and the road to the Super Bowl will prove to be a difficult one. But if the Bears can hold to the things that have gotten them this far, there should be no trouble making it to February football.