The Chicago Bears have hired Marc Trestman as their new head coach.
The Bear s fired Lovie Smith after missing the playoffs this year. According to the Chicago Tribune , Trestman will be the 14th head coach of the Chicago Bears in team history. He will be officially introduced later today.
Trestman isn’t a household name in the NFL, but he does have a convincing record. Trestman has a 64-34 record as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League and won two back-to-back Grey Cup championships.
Alouettes general manager Jim Popp told the Chicago Tribune :
“A lot of guys want to be head coaches. Some leave the NFL to go to NCAA schools, and then once they’ve proven themselves, all of a sudden those college coaches are some of the hot commodities to be an NFL coach. It’s no different. Coach Trestman has run a professional team as a head coach for five years. He’s had a winning record for five years. He’s proven himself as a head coach at a professional level. You can call it what you want, but on-hand training as a head coach and proof goes a long way, goes a real long way. You can’t replace that.”
In addition to his head coaching experience, Trestman also has a lot of experience coaching quarterbacks. One of the reasons Lovie Smith was fired is that he couldn’t turn the Bears into an offensive machine. The Chicago team is hoping that Trestman can get Jay Cutler to live up to his potential.
Trestman helped Bernie Kosar win a National Championship in 1983. He’s also coached players like Steve Young, Jake Plummer and Rich Gannon.
Popp continued:
“The skill set that Marc has, being an offensive mind, and then his great relationships that he’s had with quarterbacks historically in the NFL and the work he’s done with them makes him a good fit for the job.”
ESPN reports that Trestman isn’t the only face heading to Chicago. The Bears new coach has reportedly hired former New Orleans Saints assistant Aaron Kromer as his offensive coordinator.
