Bears reporter Adam Hoge embraces opportunity to coach high school football at Carmel

Adam Hoge had an itch he needed to scratch.

The NBC Sports Chicago reporter always knew he wanted to work in media when he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but there was a part of him that decided if it didn’t work out, he’d be a teacher and a coach.

He’s enjoyed covering the Chicago Bears for much of his career, but when the opportunity arose to be a high school football coach with Carmel in the spring as well as continuing his media career, Hoge knew he needed to scratch that itch.

“I’ve always had that bug in me,” Hoge said. “I just never had the time to do it.”

The opportunity opened when the IHSA moved its football season to the spring because of COVID-19. Jason McKie, who played with the Bears from 2003-2009, prepared for his first season as Carmel’s head coach. With the Bears in the offseason, Hoge figured he would reach out to a former player he covered to see whether he could volunteer as a coach.

Hoge had never coached football before and had only coached his children’s teams before, but he thought this opportunity would help him grow as a reporter while also making a difference in the lives of high school athletes.

McKie was quick to say yes, knowing the value of not only having a coach who knows schemes but also someone who McKie trusts.

Hoge spent the spring helping wherever he could, spending time getting to know the players and their backgrounds. He began to help more with the special teams as the spring went on, and once the season ended and there was an opening for the special teams coordinator for this fall’s team, Hoge knew he had to take the opportunity.

“I didn’t have plans to do it beyond the spring,” Hoge said. “I saw it as a good opportunity to learn things from the coaching side and scratch that itch and see how it goes and hopefully make a difference with the kids.”

There was a difference for Hoge other than the added responsibility of being a coordinator: he had a NFL season to cover.

He had to go to Bears training camps, practices, media availabilities and games.

He had to write stories and record episodes of the popular Hoge & Jahns podcast.

He had a family, too.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s tough,” Hoge said, “but I’m thankful to my family.”

Somehow he does it all. There are many days of the week when Hoge will spend the first half of his day in Lake Forest, reporting on the Bears at Halas Hall, and then drive over to Mundelein for the second half to coach his players.

He uses any free time to make sure he’s doing something productive. Instead of heading to the media room during Bears special teams drills like most reporters do to get ready for interviews, Hoge stays behind to watch the drills and determine whether he could do that with his special team players.

McKie has seen Hoge’s dedication to his full-time job, coaching job and family. When McKie was at the Bears home opener this season, he got a message from Hoge saying that he has time before the game and is looking at their upcoming opponent’s game film and will send a report to him at the end of the day.

The Carmel coaching staff has a Zoom meeting on Sundays to go over plans. Hoge is listening in on those meetings as he drives home after covering a Bears game.

McKie also has seen Hoge’s children with him on the sideline, finding a way to make it all work.

“He’s all dialed in on the Bears, he’s all dialed in on what we’re doing, he’s just dialed in on football,” McKie said. “Any time you have somebody that loves football just as much as you, you definitely want them on your staff.”

Hoge has seen the benefits of learning more about the game. He’s started to understand coaching decisions even more than he had in the past, learning more about the different layers of football that can make it hard to fully understand sometimes.

Even though he’s still going to be critical of coaches when it’s deserved, he has grown an appreciation for what it takes to be a coach, knowing that sometimes a coach can set everything up correctly and sometimes a play just doesn’t work.

But most importantly, Hoge is proud of the relationships he’s built with the players throughout the year. At first McKie noticed how quiet Hoge was as a coach, but as he’s learned more about the players and their backgrounds, he’s grown closer to them.

There are few things that are more rewarding for Hoge than watching his players succeed, especially watching a player make a play that they worked hard on at practice.

“A coach in high school, you’re also a teacher because you’re trying to mold these kids into men and not just football players, and I think he does a great job of that,” McKie said. “He uses football as a way to help them with life skills, different goals and stuff like that. I think he’s a great all-around coach.”

Hoge doesn’t know if he’ll ever want to be a head coach. As any coach would say, he’s just focused on the week ahead. He does know he has a lot to learn about the game before he even thinks about that proposition.

For now, he’s just appreciative of the opportunity to scratch an itch he’s always had.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Hoge said. “It’s been kind of a crazy fall, but it’s been very, very rewarding, and I’m grateful for the opportunity from Jason and the rest of the staff.”