Bears players are buying into QB Mike Glennon's leadership style

Bears players are buying into QB Mike Glennon’s leadership style

By Adam L. Jahns

As the Bears’ brass weighs when to take a quarterback in the draft, players are starting to connect with the new quarterback already in the building.

Team activities are strictly limited at this time, but quarterback Mike Glennon is asserting himself during the first phase of the offseason program in the weight room at Halas Hall.

“Mike’s a cool guy, down-to-earth,” wide receiver Josh Bellamy said Tuesday. “We crack jokes all the time, but he’s a worker, a workaholic. He wants guys that want to work. He wants everybody on the same page, and I like the leadership he brings.”

Drafting a quarterback early might change that dynamic for the Bears, but Bellamy said Glennon, who signed a three-year contract, has brought a different vibe to the locker room.

“He’s first out,” Bellamy said. “He wants everybody on time; he’s demanding everything. [It’s] what a quarterback should do. He’s showing leadership with the whole team. And he interacts with the players, with his guys. He’ll call us, ‘Hey, you guys want to go to the game?’ [It’s] just building camaraderie and building a brotherhood. And that’s all it’s about.”

Running back Jordan Howard is looking forward to working with Glennon on the field. That’s where true connections can be formed. But Howard, the expected workhorse of the offense in his second season, also has taken notice of Glennon’s leadership style.

“We’ve just been doing the conditioning and things like that, but he’s a hard worker,” Howard said. “He’s been trying to motivate guys to push through things.”