Q&A with Chicago Bears legend Devin Hester: ‘I really wanted to be a first-ballot (Hall of Famer)’

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Devin Hester vividly remembers the vibe, the energy that was percolating through Halas Hall when he joined the Chicago Bears as a second-round pick in 2006. Back then, Hester was a defender, a talented cornerback out of Miami who arrived in Lake Forest to join a defense led by Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman.

From Day One, Hester says, there was an unmistakable energy, an established standard from a defensive unit that knew its responsibilities.

“The mentality there when I first walked in was that defense wins championships,” Hester told the Tribune. “It was a defensive-minded team. And the offense? It was, ‘Listen. Y’all don’t mess up and turn the ball over and we’ll win the games.’ That was the mentality they had and that was the mentality I was brainwashed with and believed in.”

Along with that, Hester quickly found himself meshing into a team that enjoyed incredible harmony. That unity, Hester believes, only increased the team’s confidence. The confidence created swagger and resolve. The swagger and resolve cleared the way to victories, 13 during Hester’s rookie season and two more in January that propelled the Bears into Super Bowl XLI.

“An incredible run,” Hester said. “It really was.”

Hester is back in Chicago this weekend, joining Urlacher, Tillman and Matt Forte as well as former Blackhawks star Chris Chelios for Saturday’s FanDuel Fan Fest at Guaranteed Rate Field. The event, which includes musical performances from Wiz Khalifa and Alesson, will run from 2-9 p.m. and feature a handful of competitions between the former Chicago athletes.

Basketball shooting contests. Ax throwing. Hester will battle Forte in a game of Tic-Tac-Throw Football and has already declared victory.

“Matt’s a lefty,” he said with a laugh. “So, you know lefties. They don’t have the proper fundamentals of throwing the ball. So I think I’ve got the edge over him.”

Hester visited with the Tribune on Friday morning to talk more about his eight-season run with the Bears from 2006-2013 and his Pro Football Hall of Fame prospects.

Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited in some cases for length and clarity.

In your earliest days with the Bears, when you were still in the defensive backfield, what do you remember about the practice standards and the expectations that were set for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that set things up for success on Sundays?

Oh, man. It was so defensive-minded. Wired for turnovers. They had the defensive players so hungry to get turnovers. Fumbles. Interceptions. Strips. Sacks. It was like that was all we believed we could do. In games that year. Man. My first two years, our defense played incredible, lights-out football. And it was the mindset that those guys had with that unit.

That 2006 season was special obviously. Sixteen years later now, what do you appreciate most about that season and that team?

Man, when you play the game, when you play sports, every now and then you come across a team and a unit and a group of players that’s all on the same page and all have the same mindset. It’s very rare that you get on a team like that. And I was fortunate to be on a team like that my first season. They were all on the same page. With everything. Hung out together. In meetings, they were always locked and loaded and paying attention. And everything the coaches said, we soaked it up like sponges. And we believed. From Day One. And that was what made us so special that year.

That energy gets infectious quickly, doesn’t it?

It does. And sometimes it can (fade) from a coach getting fired or a player or two getting released. That’s just the National Football League. That’s the way it works. You have players that you least suspect who suddenly get released and it puts a dent in that unit and in that room.

Obviously for you, the final step in your career journey will be getting an invitation to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and getting a bust inside that building in Canton, Ohio. How did you learn last winter that you weren’t going to be inducted with this most recent class?

I got a phone call from the president of the Hall of Fame. And he wanted to call me personally and let me know what was going on before anybody else found out. He pretty much said it was a tough decision and that I was in a situation as a player where there was a lot of debate and it was very unique. They said they were never put in a position like this when it came to the category of the position I played as a special teams guy and how they viewed me when it came to this vote. So he said, we know most definitely you’re going to get in. But it was just so hard for the committee to solidify you as a Hall of Famer in my first year of eligibility just because of the special teams tag I have on my name. They just didn’t know how to present it and didn’t know whether I was worthy of being classified as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He told me I was for sure going to make the Hall of Fame eventually.

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How did that feel to you?

I was frustrated. I was upset. Because at the end of the day, when you look at the Hall of Fame, you don’t categorize a guy for what position he played. You categorize a guy for what he brought to the game of football. That’s how I want to be viewed. I don’t want to be viewed as just a special teams guy. I want to be viewed as a National Football League player and what did he bring to this game of football.

There are a lot of people on the Hall of Fame selection committee who are confident that your case is a when-not-if situation. How do you react to those sentiments that your day is coming?

It’s coming. It’s coming. But I was really just more so (disappointed). I really wanted to be a first-ballot (guy). I didn’t want them to just classify me and only look at me as just a special-teams player and then say, ‘Oh, well we can’t put a special teams guy in on the first ballot.’ In reality, I wanted it to be fair. Every guy has a position on the field. Whether it’s a returner or a quarterback. When the Hall of Fame is brought up, you have to put the best to ever do it in the Hall of Fame — regardless of position. And that’s what I was pretty much trying to present. Listen, I know I’m a special teams guy. I know I’m a kickoff and punt returner. But at the end of the day, do you look at me as the best to ever do it? Do you consider that you’re passing up the best to ever do it at that position? And I’m not knocking any other guys. But do you put the 27th best safety (ever) in the Hall of Fame? Do you put the 34th best running back in the Hall of Fame? The Hall of Fame has to have (a standard) that emphasizes the greatness of all, the best of all time. And regardless of what position you were at. .

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Your first touchdown return was in your first game in Green Bay. What was that feeling on that first touchdown and what that awakened you?

That first one, after I crossed the end zone, I was like, ‘This is something I’m going to be doing for a long time.’ Yeah. I just knew it. That first game, I took one back and I said, ‘Oh yeah. This is something I’m capable of doing for the rest of my career. And I’m going to make a big impact doing this, too.’

How do you describe what set you apart in terms of your eagerness and hunger for the big stage and the big moments?

I think I put myself in those moments before they happened. I trained during the offseason so hard behind closed doors that when those moments came I knew I was mentally and physically ready for it.

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We’ve talked a lot previously about your most iconic moments — which is obviously the Super Bowl return and the one on Monday Night Football in the comeback to beat the Cardinals (in 2006). What do you remember about the 2007 game against the Broncos?

For one, I was a little frustrated and angry at the punter. Because he was talking smack at me before the game all in the papers and everything. So it was something where I had built up a lot of anger toward him and I wanted to make sure that he ate his words really.

Did you talk to him pregame?

Nah. I didn’t say nothing to him. I was just built up with anger at what he had said about me to the point where I was like, ‘I’m going to make him pay for it.’

There are stories that bounce around about how you’d go around pregame most weeks and make sure you passed by either the opposing team’s punter or kicker or their special teams coordinator just to kind of let them know you were there. Was that part of your routine and part of your mental gamesmanship?

Oh yeah. Most definitely. I always did that and that would tell me how the game plan was going to go. That was my way of learning how that game was going to go. If I walked past him and I stared at him and he didn’t look at me knowing full well I was right in front of him, then I knew they weren’t kicking the ball to me.

And if they did look at you?

Then I knew I had action.

What did it mean to you to get the action you wanted?

Oh man, that just gave me the greenlight to do what I do and do what I do best. Like I said, once again, I was surrounded by such a great group of guys who loved special teams and loved blocking for me. We had an incredible unit. Guys felt the same way I felt. We were always on the same page. We all wanted it bad.

What was the feeling you’d get when you’d go back for a kickoff at Soldier Field and those first few beats of Soulja Boy would come over the stadium sound system?

Listen. That feeling that song brought to me before kickoff returns, I honestly sometimes thought about snatching my helmet off while the ball was in the air. That’s how unstoppable I felt. Like, I literally was sometimes thinking about, ‘What if I snatched my helmet off, threw it to the side, fielded the kick and take it back?’ No. I’m being honest. That’s really how much (energy) I felt when I was back there, Unstoppable. Like I would take one back with my helmet off.

Even to this day, I think that song brings back an adrenaline rush for Bears fans. I’m sure you have felt that, right?

Oh yeah. I do believe if they play that song again at Soldier Field, those fans are going to start looking for me. They’re going to be like, ‘Oh my god. We didn’t know Devin was coming out here today.’

Do you take time ever to envision what it would be like to get your gold jacket and have your moment on a stage to join that company in the Hall of Fame?

It’s hard to envision something that hasn’t happened. But just sitting back and imaging that happening is fun. It’s going to be a great feeling, I’m pretty sure. And a great accomplishment. Not only for me but for all of my teammates as well as my family. A dream come true. Most definitely.