The inside story of the Bears' 'Good, better, best!' craze - ESPN

BOBBY POSS WAS fuming. The A.C. Reynolds High School Rockets were up big at halftime, but the former varsity football coach at the Asheville, North Carolina, powerhouse sensed a letdown could be coming.

«Somebody get me a phone book!» Poss yelled.

One of his assistant coaches retrieved the weighty directory from Poss' office, and players gathered around their head coach, confused but intrigued.

«I looked at them, I go, 'I don't think you really want to play hard,'» Poss recalled. "'I don't think you want to go out in the second half and play like you did in the first half. I think you all are ready to just chill.' I said, 'We're not going to chill out.'"

Without hesitation, Poss ripped the spine of the yellow pages in half as the locker room erupted. The Rockets won that game handily.

Poss, 75, jokes that he can't remember his golf score from the day before, let alone which team A.C. Reynolds beat and by how much after his phone book stunt. But Poss' motivational tactics made an impact, including on his quarterback, Ben Johnson.

Another of Poss' galvanizing tactics was a postgame chant the Rockets yelled after every win.

Good, better, best!

Never let it rest

Till your good gets better

And your better gets best

BIG. GREEN. MACHINE.

Fast forward to 2025 and Johnson is coaching one of the NFL's surprise success stories. The Chicago Bears have won 11 games this season, and after each victory, Johnson hands out game balls and then performs an homage to his high school coach.

Good, better, best!

Never let it rest

Till your good gets better

And your better gets best

Bears on 3… 1, 2, 3, BEARS!

«I remember being in that locker room, and that was just the rallying cry at that time,» Johnson said. «And I think there's