Bears hire Marc Trestman

Since his lone Super Bowl appearance, Chicago has failed to meet expectations under Smith. The Bears missed the playoffs in five of the last six years and finished with an 8-8 record or worse three times.

While Smith hopes to return as a head coach in 2014, there’s no guarantee that a position will be available. A total of seven head coaches were fired after the 2012 regular season, and 17 will enter 2013 with a tenure of two years or fewer with their current teams.

The Chicago Bears coaching staff became a little lighter on Thursday (no fat joke intended), as offensive coordinator Mike Tice was relieved of his duties, along with running backs coach Tim Spencer and offensive line coach Tim Holt.

Tice became a part of the Bears franchise back in 2010 as the offensive line coach, and he was eventually promoted after the departure of former offensive coordinator Mike Martz. After just one season as the offensive coordinator in Chicago, Tice led his team to finish with the 28th-ranked offense in the league, averaging just 310.6 yards yards per game.

Taking on the often drunk and rowdy crowds in local suburban bars? Razzing Silverman to no end? Facetiously accepting the overly enthusiastic praise of callers? It was all on the table for Cutler’s radio show this season, making it appointment listening for many Bears fans in Chicago.

Personal highlights:

By the time the day mercifully ended, it felt like Trestman had been hired three weeks ago. A nation’s attention was diverted and mangled, lost like Te’o in Lennay Kekua’s imaginary “warm smile and soulful eyes”. I suspect the Bears don’t have a problem with any of this.

So much of Trestman’s story is bizarre, even if the definition of that word appears to be changing hourly. He hasn’t coached in the NFL in any capacity for eight seasons. He outlasted 13 other candidates in what was the most publicly thorough and extensive head coaching search in recent memory. He’s the first person to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL since the immortal Frank Kush left the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1982. The news was broken four days earlier by the Extenze guy. Strange times we live in, indeed.

Trestman did not call Cutler an elite quarterback, but said he can’t wait to work with Cutler. Trestman went on say that Cutler understands his strengths and weaknesses and loves football. Trestman said it would be his job to improve Cutler’s efficiency and make him a better quarterback. He also said that he is responsible for keeping Cutler and the quarterbacks safe in the pocket.

When it comes to the coaching staff, Trestman confirmed that he would have final say. He said he is going to build a staff of men who are of high character, great teachers, detailed, and organized. He also confirmed that defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has decided to move on.

Marinelli spent nine years serving under Kiffin in Tampa Bay earlier in his career.

Kromer spent the last five years with the Saints, primarily coaching running backs and, most recently, offensive linemen. He also filled in as the interim head coach of the Saints for the first six games of this past season, when Joe Vitt, himself filling in for Sean Payton, was suspended.

As to what this means for the Bears, it does lend some credibility to the thought that Marc Trestman, the team’s new head coach, will likely build the offense and call the plays.

The 56-year-old had been thought to be the favorite for the position, and indeed Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson first spoke of the hiring over the weekend.

Trestman, who has spent the last five years in the Canadian Football League, was known for his offensive prowess.

Arians joins Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevel and Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman as three candidates who will receive second interviews. Chicago met with Trestman on Sunday and are scheduled for a second interview with Bevell on Tuesday.

While Arians and Bevell are among the finalists, Trestman is still believed to be the favorite to replace Lovie Smith.

After already interviewing once, Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman will interview with Chicago again, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Bevell and Trestman are the first two candidates to be identified as finalists to replace Lovie Smith.

Former coach and NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson tweeted this morning that the Bears were in the process of hiring Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman, but Chicago Sun-Times’ Sean Jensen is debunking that piece of news:

A Bears spokesman would not comment on the Johnson tweet, Jensen reported on Twitter.

Update: Jimmy Johnson’s reporting skills leave a bit to be desired.

Johnson tweeted early Friday morning, “Looks like 2 of my guys getting NFL jobs..Chud Cleveland and my QB coach at U Trestman to Chicago.” The Bears have not made an official announcement yet.

The Bears fired Smith after finishing the season 10-6 and failing to make the playoffs following a 7-1 start. The Bears offense struggled, and finished the season ranked 28th in the league with 4,969 yards. Smith served as the Bears head coach for nine seasons, making three playoff appearances and one Super Bowl appearance. Since Smith’s departure, general manager Phil Emery has been busy, interviewing a wide array of coaching candidates.

A quick rundown of the 13 candidates:

I assume this group of folks is rather excited with the news that the Bears reportedly plan on interviewing Mike Singletary for their head coaching opening. Everyone else should be rolling their eyes.

In Phil Emery We Trust, of course, and the GM’s decision to ‘cast a wide net’ without an obvious head coaching candidate on the market is likely a very wise decision. Lovie Smith was good. Emery didn’t fire him to hire another retread like Andy Reid or Bill Cowher or, someone save us, Jon Gruden. That none of these men have apparently ever appeared on Emery’s radar is a testament to Emery’s desire to find the next great NFL coach. As the search reaches its second week, there still isn’t anything close to a favorite.

Singletary, 54, spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears from 1981-92. He was a 10-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time First-Team All-Pro.

His only head coaching experience in the NFL came over three seasons with the 49ers between 2008 and 2010. In 2008, he replaced Mike Nolan mid-season and led the team to a 5-4 record. His only full season with the 49ers was 2009 when he led them to an 8-8 record.

The Chiefs are trying to replace Romeo Crennel, who was expectedly fired early Monday morning. The Bears need to replace Lovie Smith, who’s removal came as more of a surprise on the NFL’s Black Monday. Interviewing Armstrong would also fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement that NFL teams interview a minority candidate for head coaching vacancies.