Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Allen Robinson talks Bears' potential move to Indiana, Ben Johnson's work

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris were joined by former Bears receiver Allen Robinson to discuss the organization potentially moving to Indiana and head coach Ben Johnson's impact in his first season in Chicago.

The score. Did the scouts expect you to be what you become? I don't think so. I don't think a lot of people did. For me, I definitely expected myself to play at this level. But when did you know that you were good? I've known since I was five years old. He's got a fresh set of downs at the 32-yard line.

Play action down the middle of the field. It is Robinson and to the end zone. Touchdown, Chicago. Anderson twice keeping this thing alive. Big plays. Stafford Robinson Jumpball touchdown

Then now funny Lockerone stories I don't know about any funny man Ben is a pretty serious locked in dude you know he's like that constantly you know Ben

every blue moon you know Ben a crack one of those kind of evil smiles if you will With Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043 the score That is the voice

of Alan Robinson The former Bears receiver From 2018 to 2021 he now is one of us, co-hosting the press release podcast. He is at Alan Robinson on X, and he is kind enough to join us on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash the score Chicago. Alan, just know that here in Chicago today,

most of our show has been centered around whether or not the bears are leaving Soldier Field, which is a conversation that I think started percolating around the time you were still here. It's still going. It's still going. I saw that. I saw, I didn't know if it was, spoof. I saw Indiana.

I don't really know what's going on. But yeah, it did kind of start a little bit when I was there. Not so much so. Just a tiny bit. There were rumblings that it was going to be where the old horse racing area was at. But I saw Indiana today and that absolutely blew my mind. The fact that you said it came off as a spoof to you, does that tell you how outraged you think Chicago fans would be at a move like taking the Bears? not only out of Soldier Field, but out of the state of Illinois and putting them in Indiana.

Yeah. Listen, I don't know if that's a negotiation tactic. I don't know what it is. It just sounds so foreign to me that the state of Indiana would even have two football teams and the state of Illinois would have zero. I can't even fathom the Chicago Bears not being in Chicago, let alone being not even in the state of Illinois. Well, Alan, you bring a different perspective to it too,

because we've talked to a lot of fans who discuss whether or not they want to make a drive somewhere. As a player, how much does it actually factor in in your game day process, your day-to-day, that type of thing, where you're playing? You know, I think guys think about that. A lot of times, though, you have the practice facility that may be out in the suburb areas

or in an area that has more space. It was like that when I was in L.A. It was like that in Chicago. So it's like that a lot of places. But it's the feel of going into Soldier Field in the city of Chicago. I remember with my family sometimes the night before the game or the day before the game would grab dinner or even stay in the city after the game and grab dinner.

So it was a very nice experience to be able to come into the city and just the overall feel and the energy of the city. You could feel it in Soldier Field in Chicago. And it's interesting that you said because you've played in different places, whether it was Jacksonville, Chicago, you mentioned L.A., and then, of course, Detroit, Pittsburgh. Like Pittsburgh, it's all close by. You know, the south side facility, and then you go to the stadiums, you could almost see the stadium from the practice facility. Do you think that that would be a problem?

I mean, football is a game where you don't play that many games. So home games, you know, it's really only talking about like nine, ten dates. If you get to the playoffs, maybe a couple more. But to go all the way from north of the city, all the way to Indiana. And I'm guessing they would spend the night either downtown or. or somewhere around Hammond, if they built hotels by then. Casino. There's a casino there.

True. How would that make you feel as a player, or does it matter? I think that's tough. I think that's really tough on the families. I think that's really tough on the people who are coming in town and coming to the game. I mean, Chicago traffic alone is already something that you have to account for. And now with the facility being in the suburbs, now you account for the travel getting through the city. So it will make the commute very difficult for the family and friends

and for the people who are close to the players who want to have easy commutes and travel going to the games. I think it will make it more difficult. Alan Robinson is who we are talking to. And we wanted to ask him a lot of football questions, but when you have an actual NFL football player with you, talking to him about the stadium he would play in is also pretty valid. So, Alan, we appreciate the inside info.

I'm going to ask you this excluding Soldier Field to make, to make it easy on you, but also we know how you feel about Soldier Field. Outside of Soldier Field, because I know you like playing there, what was your favorite stadium to play at either home or road? I got to go with Fort Field. And Fort Field, because I'm from Detroit, I'm a Detroit native. So I grew up in the dog days and years of the Detroit Lions. Owen 16.

I saw a lot of bad football growing up with the Lions. So the year that I was there, we won the division. We went 15 and 2. It was a phenomenal season to be able to see that stadium in downtown Detroit sold out all the lights flickering in the pregame festivities and player announcements. It was a phenomenal experience. Okay, that's a great answer. And it obviously is understandable. My question is this.

Judging on what you thought Ben Johnson would do after seeing what he did in Detroit, and now what you've seen him actually do as the head coach of Chicago Bears. Did he exceed expectations? Did he meet expectations? How would you describe that season now that it's over and done with it in the books? I think he slightly exceeded expectation. I say that to get to the playoffs. I think that would be Ben Johnson's expectation as well.

So it's tough to say exceed. I think if he had to made it to the championship game or to the Super Bowl, then I could have said exceed. But I would say he met my expectation. Ben Johnson is a phenomenal coach with the team that he inherited with some of the players and Caleb Williams and DJ Moore, D'Andre Swift, Cole Komet, with the guys they drafted. He had a phenomenal roster with just him being able to use the tools that he had on that roster. So I thought Ben Johnson would come in, set the foundation and build from there.

And that's what he did. And you could tell each and every week, those guys played hard. they won close games. I said this very early in the season. Ben Johnson's, he coaches his best in close games. And I think there were a lot of close game victories that the Chicago Bears won. Even one that comes to my mind is in Cincinnati winning that in the last moments of the game. So I think the Chicago Bears turned a lot around this year as far as their overall culture with the years prior with Iber Fluse losing some of those close games. We're talking to Alan Robinson. And I know you had a keen eye on the playoffs. I really appreciate even you telling us about just physically the

process of going about your job as a receiver in the cold weather. I thought that that was such good advice and information. Just watching having that knowledge in these last two games, especially. I also want to know your advice and your impression of what you saw. You know, we talked a lot about that last play. DJ Moore got a lot of focus, you know, as a receiver yourself and a former Bears number one receiver. You know, what did you think of that? And then just also the receiving performance in that final game against the Rams? Yeah, you know, when you look at a game, there's always times and moments where things can be better,

miscommunication and things like that. But I think the Bears, what they did was they gave themselves a shot to win the game. I mean, when you look at a game like that, there are many plays that you can look at throughout the course of the game that maybe could have changed the overall trajectory of how it played out. But I thought the weapons that Caleb had, I thought they made plays down the stretch. they were able to give themselves a shot,

getting into overtime, drive the ball down and we're about 20 yards or so from kicking a game winning field going. I also thought Caleb Williams, he turned into Superman when he had to and made some extremely big plays. Obviously, he had the late game turnover that then led the Rams to go down and score.

But I thought overall he played very well, and I think for a second year player, he had a lot of growth, and I think he should be proud of himself. And when I say proud, meaning being able to come in, have a new head coach, learn that offense, learn that system,

get to the game that they got and now going to the offseason to say, okay, now we have a great foundation to build upon. And just as a follow-up, you know, you know what it's like to install a new play or a new route tree and there had been a lot of discussion

about that happening. Makes sense, you know, from a coaching standpoint to be able to build on the systems that you talked about, build on plays that you drew up before, have something to be different. How hard can it be sometimes

in those type of pressure situations as a receiver to install something differently, knowing you're going to do it for the playoffs and knowing that everything's on the line. Yeah, it's difficult. But what I always said is you would much rather a cheesecake factory menu of plays and options and routes than you would like a kitty menu. You know, you want to be able to say, okay, we have something for each and every situation. If we're being played like this, to be able to take advantage. of the defense and what they're giving us.

So for me, going into weeks like that, even though it may take a little bit more studying, watching a little bit more film to be able to make sure that I'm honed in on the game plan, I always like to be able to have the versatility and the options and the bullets on hand to keep firing. If you get into a shootout and you get into overtime, that everything doesn't become repetitive for the defense. Alan Robinson, the Pro Bowl wide receiver, and a Chicago bear from 2018, to 2021, joining us here on Rahimi, Harris, and Grotie. Be sure to catch his podcast, the press release pod that he is a co-host of. Alan, I got to ask you, now the season is over and the dust is settled, what should be

the bear's biggest priority from your standpoint as far as what they need to shore up, what they need to improve on and get better at position-wise? I think two things. I think when you look at, when you have a quarterback like Caleb Williams, he makes everybody around him better or just with his overall mobility and being able to get the ball in different places. I think when you look at them offensively, skill position-wise, I think they're extremely deep. I think with the guys that they drafted, with the guys that they currently have in a roster, but you can always evaluate the D-line as far as how are we getting into the passer in some

these situations we're planning against Matthew Stafford. We can only run so many coverages that he won't be able to take advantage of the thing that you can do to mitigate a player like that and a quarterback like that is being able to get pressure and not having to blitz. So I think being able to sure up the defensive line and try to get a piece here or there, I mean, Max Crosby, there's rumors of him wanting out of Las Vegas. There's some big names on the market that you could come in that would really bolster the pass rush right away. We're talking to Alan Robinson here on The Score, the former Bears receiver.

He's also joining us on Twitch. If you missed it, Twitch.tv slash The Score, Chicago. I think the last time we talked to you was either right before the last playoff game or it was right before the two playoff games. Is there anything that any other extra opinion you have of the Bears after seeing those last two playoff games that maybe you didn't have once the regular season ended? Just to have that extra when everything's on the line, the pressure type of judgment on the offense. I know you already felt like they made a lot of progress the last time we spoke to you. Yeah, you know, I think they were, listen, I think they were right where they needed to be at. you know, again, and I say that because it's a play that if you were to run that same play again,

it wasn't anything to me that the Rams necessarily did. It just seemed like something was a little bit off on the offense. And if you can take that play back, then the Bears might win and then go to the championship game. So I don't think there's that much more that you could have asked or could have done differently in a game like that. Obviously, it's going to be highly competitive. They're playing against the Rams. It's the playoffs. I thought they did everything in their power and played extremely well.

I think the main thing for them is just correcting some of the things that they did to beat themselves rather than what they need to improve upon as far as physically, schematically. I think they're right there. Listen, Alan, I've made this proclamation. Not everybody agrees with me. I want to know your thoughts on this. I say the Bears have found their franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams, and he's going to be the guy for the next decade.

plus where do you stand on Caleb's viability going forward? I would agree with that. I would agree with that. I mean, he's a guy who doesn't turn the ball over a lot. Obviously, he did late in the game, but that's very correctable. He's a second year player who switched coaches, but still didn't take a step back in their learning ability. It wasn't that Ben Johnson came in and we're having conversations of, was it too much on Caleb Williams played?

How did he adjust to things down the stretch? We saw him play and make big. plays and big time games and playoff games down the stretch. And like I said before, they were about 15 yards away from being in the NFC championship game. So I think we have a second year quarterback that's at that level with a coach like Ben Johnson. Ben is only going to push him to be better. And I think the sky is the limit for him. And the number one thing that I think for young players, for a person like Caleb that he got accomplished this year is just the overall sheer confidence in himself and the confidence in his teammates around him that they have.

have now in Caleb Williams seeing how he performed in those playoff games and down the stretch. And you're right. Like when he said, I can make any throw. And when we saw the throws, I don't know how you disagree. I also want to ask you this, Alan, after watching all of the games, finishing up with the Super Bowl, who do you think was the best receiver in the league this year? I would have to go with Jackson Smith and Jingle. I think he played, I think he played lights out. I think we saw him shine the brightest in very big moments. Obviously, he didn't have a prolific Super Bowl, but I mean Kenneth Walker kind of stole the show. But overall, I think

consistency, game in, game out, he made plays down the stretch. He was available. He was consistent and he showed up when they needed the most. What made him so good? Because not in general made him so good. That showed. But what made him so good at not only the route efficiency he had, but just how many times he would be absolutely open in a game where I'm going, how did he get that open? Like, where's the nearest defender here?

Honestly, I think you got to give credit to Kubiak. And also, I think you got to give credit to the run game. I think with them having a two-headed monster for majority of season, being able to get the run game established and going, I think in some of those play action concepts, he's kind of not easily gets lost, but if you can dial up some concepts, you know, you can take advantage of those defense who are really,

stepping up in the run game. So I would have to give a credit to the coaching staff and also the run game because as all receivers know, when you can establish the run, those play action passes sometimes just become gimmies. I'm curious as to who you think has the brightest future from this past year's rookies. When you look at the success of Calmanungai, Colston Loveland, and of course Luther Bird in the third, who do you think is poised to have the most success next season? I think Loveland or Luther Burden, man, every time I saw Luther Burden get the ball this season, he made plays. Rather if that was him making a guy miss, rather than that was him getting the first down, it always seemed to be something explosive and not just an ordinary play when the ball touched his hands.

It was like I said before, it was going to take more than one tackler to bring him down. He was moving the chains. He made some contested catches. He did a lot of different things that I was just surprised to see the overall how broad his game was and how much he was able to do, not just being a catching run guy, not just being a route guy, but being able to do a little bit of everything.

Alan Robinson, always great to talk to you. You can check out his press release podcast, anywhere you get your podcasts. What's the latest episode that you guys discussed? We've talked about going into the combine and what the prep before the combine is like. We'll actually be at the combine next year. So we'll have a guest on our show.

We'll be talking a little bit more indefinitely. to what the combine is like and once you get to testing day and what those jitters can be like and just the overall differences in the combine from when us old guys were at the combine to now when you have fans, they're cheering

and it's a little bit different atmosphere when the guys are running and performing. So you and Prince and Mukamara are giving like me and Marshall some workout tips and getting ready for the combine. I'm here for it all. A little bit. A little bit.

Zero inches. I'll say this. I think the biggest thing going to the combine for everybody is you just are kind of thrown into different parts of the country to train that you've never really been a part of. So it's you getting accustomed to that city very quickly, to the workout regiments, the new diets and everything. There's a lot of little things that take place. But the thing that is universal with everybody is whenever you get on the field and in between those lines when it comes to training, you're in your Zen spot and you're able to just

do what you love to do. Love it, Alan. so much for joining us, man. You always got great insight, especially because of your unique perspective, someone who's played all around the NFL, but of course, a special place in your heart for the Bears. Most definitely. I appreciate you guys having me. Thank you. That sounds like a great episode. Alan, thanks for letting us in on it. Thanks for joining us today. Alan Robinson, the co-host of the press release podcast with Prince of Mukamura. Sounds like a really good episode coming up on the Combine, too. So you've got a zero inch vertical. I can clear a phone book. That's where we're at. I feel like you and I had better ops back in the day.

Well, I know I did, but those things do not exist anymore. I was hoping maybe he'd give us a vertical tip or a 40-yard dash tip or something. He doesn't want us to hurt ourselves, Leila. Somebody inevitably hurts themselves the week of the combine doing some radio bit about a 40-yard dash. I wonder. Is Rich Eisen still running the 40, right? Is he? Every year he runs the 40 at the combine. But he does it every year.

Yeah. See, even that is more than most people running 40. Okay, that's fair. that every year. At least he's got that going for him. Craig Wall had to had to cancel because he's chasing down a massive amount of news today. Wouldn't you say, Ray? She said he's working on two stories. So you can check that out on Channel 7 tonight. How do you like that? Double your information. In the meantime, J.B. Pritzker spoke. So let's let's give everybody their time. We have J.B. Pritzker speaking about the meeting that wasn't in Springfield this morning.

We can repeat to you what the bear statement was. And apparently all of this happened without a very important figure in the process. So we'll do that next.