Bears safeties – Coby Bryant told Dillon Thieneman to slow down during mandatory minicamp, a simple piece of veteran advice wrapped in the Bears’ larger bet: two first-safety investments rising together, sharing roles in a defense reshaped after Bryant’s Super Bowl win.
When Dillon Thieneman hit the practice field last week for the Bears’ first mandatory minicamp session, Coby Bryant’s message to him sounded almost parent-like: slow down.
Bryant, a Super Bowl champ and now a safety for Chicago, wasn’t talking in riddles. During early work in the minicamp, he said he wanted the 21-year-old to ease off his natural pace.
“He wants to go full speed in everything …” Bryant said. “[In] Individual drills, we have to tell him to slow down because I’m not running that fast individually. I’m 27, he’s 21.”
Thieneman didn’t take the hint that seriously. Smiling, he said, “I don’t know if I’ll slow down.”
That exchange landed on the center of a bigger storyline in Chicago’s offseason: the Bears making two safeties—Bryant and Thieneman—the foundation of their next defensive look, and doing it with all the risk and reward that comes with pairing youth and experience.
Bryant, for his part, doesn’t mind the exuberance. He called Thieneman “very coachable” and “exciting to watch,” saying the rookie “makes plays every day.”
“He’s a great football player. Once he sees something he recognizes, he makes a play right away,” Bryant said. “That’s the biggest thing, especially playing safety in this defense as well. He has had a great spring, and I know he’ll continue to grow.”
The Bears’ commitment to Bryant came first. In March, Chicago signed Bryant, the Seahawks’ standout, to a three-year, $40 million deal. The move was part of a plan to reshape their defense. and it came after the Bears chose Bryant over Kevin Byard. the captain and first-team all-pro who eventually left for the Patriots.
In the way the Bears have described Bryant, the traits point directly at what Thieneman is being asked to become. They emphasized Bryant’s speed. versatility. and aggressiveness—characteristics they’ve also highlighted as the qualities they’ll look for as they develop Thieneman after drafting him a month later.
For the Bears, the real surprise is how much they’ve invested at the position. Two offseason splurges—both in salary and draft capital—are going into safeties, even with the obvious opportunity cost that comes with devoting resources to one group over others.
Still, Chicago believes those two players can fit together. Safeties coach Matt Giordano pointed to the shared skill set.
“That versatility that Dillon and Coby have, there’s a lot of things that you can do,” Giordano said. “Now it’s just help them learn our defense and figure out what they do best to put them in the right positions to make plays.”
Thieneman is being treated as the upside bet. Bryant is being treated as the established standard—coming off “the greatest accomplishment” of his career by helping to anchor a championship defense.
“He’s one of those guys — he knows what good football and bad football looks like. ” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “He just came from a Super Bowl-winning team. I think there’s a premium on that experience. I think it easily resonates with all the guys in the locker room. I think there’s an instant amount of respect that he’s garnered because of that.”.
Last week, Bryant flew to Seattle to collect his prize. He received his Super Bowl ring as part of the Seahawks’ private ceremony. Bryant posted a picture on social media, and he made sure to add a “Bear Down” for good measure.
Then he came back and tried to set the tone for how he wants to lead. His goal wasn’t to replay what happened in Seattle, or to lean on the past for credit.
“Whatever questions they have. I answer them. but … I just try to be here present where my feet are and be that leader. to get there again …” Bryant said. “I try not to use my past — what I did in Seattle — with these guys. The biggest thing I came here to do is be a leader and direct these guys and lead these guys. and vice versa. I need to be led as well.”.
Even as Bryant describes leadership as something he practices, he knows the attention is two-way. As he enters his fifth season, he’s still refining how he shows up, including how he pushes through the day-to-day pace of practice—where younger players watch, and coaches watch too.
“A lot of guys respect me and how I go about myself and how I practice … ” Bryant said. “I just go out and be the example.”
The Bears have already been using Bryant’s presence as a teaching tool. Johnson said that before a recent practice, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen pulled up a clip of Bryant rallying to the ball from his deep spot as the post safety.
“When you watch him on the practice field, he really comes to life. …” Johnson said. “It was all over his tape in Seattle. That’s what we’re getting right now, and I think it’s contagious.”
That’s the instruction Thieneman is getting in pieces—sometimes quietly, in moments that don’t look dramatic but shape how a rookie plays. The Bears have been bringing the Oregon rookie along methodically, with the expectation that he will surpass Elijah Hicks for the starting job soon.
Thieneman hasn’t been playing alongside Bryant on the first team in practices, but the plan is clear: the rookie is being prepared to take on more responsibility, and Bryant is expected to help set the standard for how it’s done.
Thieneman described Bryant’s help as something that shows up in the small details.
“It’s more like the little things … ” he said. “When he speaks up or just talking to him one-on-one, or asking him how he would play something like that. He’s been very helpful.”
In Chicago, the veteran’s advice is simple—slow down early, understand how fast you can truly go.
In return, the rookie is bringing something else: the willingness to learn, and the belief that he can grow into the role without losing the edge that made the Bears bet on him in the first place.
MISRYOUM USA Bears Coby Bryant Dillon Thieneman mandatory minicamp safeties Ben Johnson Matt Giordano Dennis Allen Kevin Byard Elijah Hicks Super Bowl ring Seattle Seahawks