Tony Medlin might not be a household name around the NFL, but the Chicago Bears equipment manager is quite popular around team headquarters in the northern suburbs where he’s experienced the layers and nuance to the well-worn Illinois weather qualifier, “cooler by the lake.”
Circle Medlin as a potential MVP candidate for the Bears this week with arctic temperatures escorting the Cleveland Browns from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan for their Week 15 date at Soldier Field. He’ll help outfit players with cleats, base layers, confer with stadium operators about heated benches and work with the training staff to address injury concerns.
When the Browns wake up Sunday morning at their team hotel a few blocks from the stadium, the temperature is expected to be below zero. Wind chills are forecast for a range between 20-below and 30-below zero, increasing to the teens before the 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
Cleveland is anticipating a focus on running the ball on Sunday. The Bears are second in the NFL, averaging 152.6 rushing yards per game. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski called Chicago’s ground game a “great rushing attack” but doesn’t want to ignore the playmaking ability of quarterback Caleb Williams.
“He can make a ton of plays both on schedule and off schedule, has elite arm talent to throw the ball around the field,” Stefanski said. “He’s very elusive, extremely elusive. He can get out of the pocket to the left, to the right, vertical in the pocket. He’s a hard guy to bring down and that adds another element to their team and in this case their run offense.”
If the air temperature without regard to wind chill is in the single digits on Sunday, the game would be one of the five coldest at Soldier Field, the Bears’ home stadium since 1971. The Bears’ record for coldest temperature at kickoff in a home game was Dec. 22, 2008. The Bears and Packers played on a frozen field when the kickoff temperature was 2 degrees and wind chill was minus-13.
Medlin, head equipment manager of the Bears since 1997 following 10 years serving the organization prior to taking on that title, entered the league with the team after a phone interview with an administrator assisting the league office named Roger Goodell.
–Field Level Media
