The common thought is that when you hear the name “Ashton Kutcher,” you immediately picture his character, Michael Kelso, from the hit sitcom series.“That show from the 70’s.” Or maybe you’ll see him alongside Sean William Scott in the 2000 film “Man, where’s my car?” Or maybe you’re thinking about his glamorous Hollywood wedding to actress Mila Kunis. What you’re probably not thinking about is Ashton Kutcher, the football coach. But that’s the real role Kutcher talked about when he joined Matt Leinart and Jerry Ferrara on their new podcast, Looking back.

The 46-year-old actor reflects on his time as defensive coordinator for the 2008 Harvard Westlake (CA) Freshman Football team and how it energized him.

“I got a little bit of joy back,” Kutcher said. “Being in the game, teaching something that I really felt like I knew and even more, like, having these guys look at you when you’re coaching. It’s just a feeling of having that relationship. It’s something different. A locker room is something different. And it was a great experience.”

When his acting career picked up again, Kutcher dropped out of Harvard Westlake, but he never lost his desire to coach. And sure enough, that desire has come true again, this time as the coach of his 7-year-old son’s flag football team. The father of two joked about the intensity with which he prepares for each game.

“I shot game videos of the other teams. And then I came up with all the plays, it’s so crazy that I’ve had more fun coaching flag football than I ever could have imagined.”

Kutcher also spoke at length about his love for the Chicago Bears, predicting an 11-win season, including a season-ending victory over the heavily favored Detroit Lions. Where does this belief come from?

“The hope is that we have (head coach Matt) Eberflus, and we like what we’re seeing from Eberflus. We have (#1 draft pick) Caleb (Williams), and we like what we’re seeing from Caleb,” Kutcher said. “And that those two can stay connected, and maybe (offensive coordinator) Shane Waldron, who we just got from Seattle, maybe we can get a unit that stays together and gives (Caleb Williams) a chance to fight. So that’s my hope.”

While some may be mourning the end of summer judging by his enthusiasm for the game in the most recent edition of Throwbacks, it’s clear that Ashton Kutcher is ready for fall and the countless hours of football at all levels that come with it.

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New episodes of “Looking back” drops every Thursday. Watch on YouTube, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show @ThrowbacksShow on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook for bonus content.