Bear Down has a different meaning to Brian Urlacher, but he’s no stranger to Tucson.
Before the Chicago Bears legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer was the guest speaker for the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Kickoff Luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center this week, he spent several moments in the Old Pueblo, especially Arizona Stadium.
Urlacher’s son, Kennedy, was recruited by the Arizona Wildcats out of Chandler High School. Kennedy Urlacher signed with Notre Dame before transferring to USC.
The older Urlacher also played against the Wildcats in the 1997 Insight.com Bowl, when Arizona beat New Mexico 20-14. Arizona had three rushing touchdowns from Kelvin Eafon and Trung Canidate. Both teams threw a combined six interceptions in the bowl game.
“It was fun,” Urlacher said. “It was a great week. It’s the only bowl game I ever played in, so I remember it pretty well. We had a good time that week.”
Urlacher played a “rover” linebacker-safety hybrid position — also known as “Lobo-Back” — under New Mexico head coach Rocky Long, who mentored Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. The position “was great for me,” Urlacher said.
El Charro provides a variety of hot salsas for a “Hot Ones” style interview between Kym Adair, Arizona Bowl executive director, and special guest and former Bears linebacker, Brian Urlacher.
“That may not be a great defense, but it was great for me,” Urlacher said. “I ran to the ball every play and never got blocked. It was awesome.”
As a linebacker and wide receiver, Urlacher emerged as one of the top players in college football and became a consensus All-American and the 1999 Mountain West Player of the Year. He led the nation in tackles (178) as a junior and set the single-season tackles record at New Mexico.
Following his illustrious career, Urlacher was a first-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2000. He played 13 seasons for the Bears and was an eight-time Pro Bowler and was NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2000) and NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2005). Urlacher led the NFL in solo tackles in 2002 and had 1,361 career tackles, 22 interceptions, 41.5 sacks, 90 pass deflections, 15 fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles in his 13-year NFL career.
Urlacher was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. He’s also in the College Football Hall of Fame.
With roughly 1,000 people in attendance at the TCC, including Arizona football head coach Brent Brennan, Urlacher reflected on his football-playing career for the Arizona Bowl Kickoff Luncheon, which is celebrating its 10th year in Tucson. Urlacher spoke to local media about his visit to Tucson. Here are the most pertinent items Urlacher discussed.
From afar, what do you make of the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop?
A: “The climate is gonna be great. When you come here, you’re gonna have a great week of weather, No. 1. That’s why we live in Arizona, because of the weather. The food is definitely great around here. Growing up in New Mexico, I understand it a little bit. And good people. It’s going to be a fun week. You can do lot of different things around here. ... I know it’ll be a fun week and there’ll be a lot of cool things to do.”
A few weeks ago, Gonzales revealed that he was your roommate at New Mexico. How do you reflect on that time?
A: “Coach G? I used to beat his ass all the time. Danny was our backup punter and he backed me up. I can’t remember. I know Danny was a year older than me because I didn’t redshirt. But he was a good teammate and he walked on and got a scholarship in his last year and Coach Long gave him a scholarship. Smart guy, obviously he knows football. He’s been coaching for a long time now. Really good defensive mind.”
Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher speaks to the media during the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Gin and Juice Arizona Bowl Luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center, Oct. 30, 2025.
What makes Gonzales a good coach, in your opinion?
A: “No. 1, he cares. He knows exactly what’s going on. He knows what he’s doing. He’s detailed. Gets the guys in the right spots. I think the best thing you can do as a coach is have your guys prepared. If your guys are prepared, they know what they’re doing, they’re going to play a lot faster.”
How was Gonzales as a college kid?
A: “Different than he is now. He was a college kid. He had fun. He’s pretty serious these days, but he was a fun teammate. We had a good team, not good as in winning a lot of games, but we had good guys on our team. We had fun, really good coaches. He’s from New Mexico, so I think it was kind of cool for him to grow up there and then play there for his college career.”
How was it sharing the field with former Arizona linebacker Lance Briggs?
A: “Lance was my teammate. We played side-by-side for 10 years. ... He was a great football player. Ten years, playing side-by-side with him, we had a lot of good times on and off the field.”
Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher tastes different El Charro salsas during a “Hot Ones” style interview for the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Gin and Juice Arizona Bowl Luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center, Oct. 30, 2025.
Do you think you’ll both end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
A: “One of us is right now. I don’t know the criteria anymore, honestly, to get in. Some guys get in who I think shouldn’t be in, and some guys don’t get in who I think should be in. I don’t know how it works. The media votes on that. I mean, (Briggs) has all the credentials. Every box you want to check, he has them all. I just don’t know what the holdup is. We have some other guys like that. Charles Tillman is one of my teammates, as well. Olin Kreutz, eight Pro Bowls, probably the best center during my era that I played with. I don’t know how it works anymore. It’s frustrating to to kind of watch that process take place.”
Did you know any other former Wildcats or Tucsonans during your time in the NFL?
A: “(UA wide receivers coach) Bobby Wade was my teammate, as well. Bobby Wade is a good dude. Is he still coaching here? I can’t imagine that guy coaching. He was a great teammate. He was fun, but he was young. He was a good football player and Bobby was a good teammate. We had him for four or five years. I don’t know if there are any other U of A guys we had, but those two are pretty awesome. We got two good ones.”
Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher speaks to the media during the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Gin and Juice Arizona Bowl Luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., Oct. 30, 2025.
What was your favorite moment as a football player?
A: “The thing I miss the most is my teammates. When I immediately retired, being here in the locker room pretty much every day with your teammates, your coaches, the trainers, the equipment guys, all the people. And then when I retired, all that was gone immediately. That was hard for me to kind of adjust to. But my favorite moment is probably winning the 2006 NFC championship at Soldier Field. We got the George Halas Trophy in front of our fans. It started snowing there in the fourth quarter and we just beat the Saints. Of course, we lost the Super Bowl two weeks later, but winning that game at Soldier Field in front of our fans is pretty awesome.”
What’s your advice to anyone who wants to become the next Brian Urlacher?
A: “I would say enjoy the process. No. 1, it’s really hard to make it to the NFL. No. 2, there’s so many things that have to go right. You have to stay healthy. No. 1, you got to play — you have to play well. You got to get drafted, but you have to make it. There’s so many steps you have to go through to get there. Everything has to fall into place. But enjoy the process. Don’t base your success whether you make it to NFL or not. You’re going to get a degree, you’re going to get so many good things that can happen, even if you don’t make it to NFL through playing football and what football can get you. So just enjoy that. Enjoy the process, have fun with it, make some friends, enjoy your time. It’s a great sport, great game.”
