No joke: Forte asks for job from Bears

Matt Forte insists he wasn't joking last week when he asked for a job with his one of his former teams, the Chicago Bears. Forte, who retired from playing in the NFL in April, took to Twitter on June 13 to ask the Bears for a coaching job after hearing the news that DeMarcus Ware was joining the Denver Broncos as a part-time pass-rushing consultant. "@ChicagoBears yo I'm available.... vision, route running, pass protection etc. ... Shooters shoot," Forte tweeted. When 247Sports wrote about the tweet and referenced that Forte was joking, the 32-year-old was quick to respond that he was serious. "I wasn't joking," Forte tweeted. Forte's resume suggests that he knows what he's doing, as he ranks second all-time in rushing yards with the Bears behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Forte accumulated 14,468 yards from scrimmage (9,796 rushing, 4,672 receiving) and 75 total touchdowns (54 rushing, 21 receiving) in 146 career games with the Bears and New York Jets. Forte's career effectively ended when he landed on injured reserve in Week 17 after battling a chronic knee injury. He finished with career lows in rushing attempts (103), rushing yards (381) and touchdowns (two) last season with the Jets, with whom he signed a three-year, $12 million contract in 2016. Forte began his NFL career with a flourish, as he rushed for 1,238 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season after being selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Tulane. He went on to rush for more than 1,000 yards in four of the next six seasons, earning Pro Bowl nods in 2011 and 2013.