In 1967, Piccolo moved to fullback. However, Anderson's emergence helped to quell the sting a bit. To make this list I considered three important qualities. In the '60s, Gayle Sayers—one of the best Chicago backs of all time—set records and put up stunning performances before knee injuries cut his career short. From that point, he and Sayers became a formidable rushing duo. His true stats have gone largely unrecorded, but his legend is the greatest in franchise history. Jordan Howard spent his first three seasons in Chicago and made the Pro Bowl his rookie year. It is, in my subjective opinion, the greatest and noblest sport, with a long and fascinating history. During his time with the Beavers, Jermar Jefferson posted stellar seasons at the position. Most importantly, his presence drew attention to pro football and set it on the path to becoming what it is today. Bronko Nagurski was a 225-pound fullback who outweighed many of the offensive tackles of his day. A second-consecutive week with at least 26 fantasy points. Official stats have him rushing for 2,778 yards in his career, though his first two seasons are missing from that number. For the 2019 season, he signed with the Eagles. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame with the class of 1966. In fact, aside from 1965, the Bears had losing seasons every year until after Bull moved on to play for the Eagles in '71. It is tough to know where to rank Harold “Red” Grange on a list of the best Bears running backs of all time. During his brief seven-year career, he rushed for 4,956 yards and 39 touchdowns with an amazing 5.0 yards-per-carry average. He made All-Pro twice and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1963. He ran two punts and six kickoffs back for touchdowns in his career. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 and '17 before his rushing productivity dropped a bit in '18. After Payton's passing, the NFL honored him by renaming the NFL Man of the Year award to the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. His struggles and his relationship with Sayers were immortalized in the 1971 movie Brian’s Song. He had led his team to a national championship in 1923 and was selected to the All-America team three times. He was a key part of the championship team in 1985, and he remains a fan favorite to this day. According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, the Bears are set to hire Michael Pitre away from Oregon State to take over the role with their team. Dominic Rhodes rushed for 113 yards, one better than Thomas Jones of the Bears, who had 112. Brian Piccolo was a free agent who worked hard to make the Bears' roster as a halfback. At 6'2" and 225 pounds, Rick Casares had the size to play even in today’s NFL. There was a pair of running backs over 100 yards as the Indianapolis Colts downed the Chicago Bears. Learn how your comment data is processed. At that time, player hotel rooms were still segregated. 1 rusher in NFL history with 16,726 total yards on the ground. He won two during his first stint in the league from 1930 to '37, then came out of retirement in '43 at the age of 35 to win one more. He rushed for over 1,200 yards every season from 1976 to '86 (not counting the strike-shortened '82 season). Each year there is one nominee from each team. Had he played longer, and had he not shared rushing duties during his career with fullbacks Brian Piccolo and Ronnie Bull, Sayers might today hold every NFL rushing record. However, Suhey’s value as a blocker and receiver tipped the scales. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Report: Bears to add Michael Pitre as running backs coach, Report: Cam Newton re-signing with Patriots. For Roland Harper’s entire career, he played fullback alongside Walter Payton. A string of knee injuries cut Sayers's career short. Though he only played three seasons in Chicago, Jones had an impressive impact, ranking sixth all-time for the franchise in rushing yards. The Chicago Bears reportedly have a new running backs coach. In 2014, he caught 102 passes while also rushing for 1,038 yards. In my opinion, Matt Forte was underrated as a running back during his playing years. He led the team in rushing from 1955 to '60, and by the time he was done he had amassed 5,657 career rushing yards and scored 59 total touchdowns. A great collegiate running back known as the Galloping Ghost helped put the Bears, and the NFL, on the map in those early days. But for the five seasons before that, there was not a more dangerous back in the NFL. The Chicago Bears reportedly have a new running backs coach. The two players joined the league together in 1975, and they remained together until Harper retired after the '82 season. During his last two seasons in Chicago, he played in only four total games and managed only 90 yards rushing. Near the end of the 1969 season, Piccolo was diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma. The Running Back Postion isn’t an immediate need for the Raiders this offseason but here are a few they could target in the draft to improve their depth. He was a versatile, durable back who deserved more accolades than he received during his playing time. Seattle this past season had one back do that and that was Carson. Many NFL teams can say some of the greatest running backs in history wore their colors, but few have as strong a claim as the Bears. From 1981 to '89, he shared the backfield with All Pro tailback Walter Payton and Pro-Bowl tailback Neal Anderson. Penn State alum Matt Suhey arrived in the Windy City in 1980 and took over fullback duties the following year. The Bears are in trouble. He also served under Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in 2011 when he was the offensive coordinator at Colorado. Back then, if you were going to win in pro football, you did it on the ground. As with Grange, statistics are a little shaky for Nagurski’s time in the league. The following year, Payton and his Bears finally made it to the Super Bowl and won a championship. Report: Bears’ top priority at QB is a Russell Wilson trade, Report: Dak Prescott’s deal is for four years, $160 million. With all of that in mind, here are the top running backs in Bears history. Neal Anderson started his career parked behind Walter Payton on the Bears’ depth chart. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, six touchdowns in one game against the 49ers. Had he been a Bear for his whole career, he would undoubtedly rank higher on this list. This makes him eighth all-time in Bears history. In contrast to backs like Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith, Payton didn’t have the luxury of running behind a championship-level offensive line for most of his career. Still, I found myself humbled while writing this article, walking the line between awestruck fan and fascinated historian. He was one more outstanding running back in a city that is known for them. Because of this, I have compiled a list of 4 running backs that the Seahawks should reach out to. Suhey played at a time when the fullback was still an important ball carrier. In 1985, the Bears made it to Super Bowl XX. Note: All stats were taken from Pro Football Reference. He set the NFL career-rushing record, which stood for 15 years, and he scored 125 total touchdowns in his career. In the 1950s, he was an opposing defense’s nightmare. I would argue that Walter Payton was the best Bears running back ever, one of the best running backs in NFL history and one of the greatest football players of all time. He ran for over 1,000 yards in five of his eight seasons as a Bear and led the team in rushing each year. In 2006, Jones and the Bears made it as far as the Super Bowl, where they lost to Peyton Manning and the Colts on a rain-drenched Miami field. All Rights Reserved. He also caught 260 passes for 2,113 yards. Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner J.J. Watt of the Texans, Feb. 3, 2018. After several unsuccessful surgeries, he passed away on June 16, 1970, at the age of 26. Comparing Running Backs Across Different Eras. One thing is for sure—Payton was anything but sweet to opponents on the field. London left the team to become the quarterbacks coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Both have championships under their belts, but Galimore has slightly better rushing stats. That’s because the Bears are a storied franchise dating back to the very dawn of the NFL. Thomas Jones was an outstanding running back who had a stellar 12-year NFL career in which he rushed for over 10,000 yards. In all three of his seasons with the Bears, Jones led the team in rushing, totaling 3,493 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground.