As expected Marc Trestman was canned by the Bears - along with the team’s GM. We will see where he ends up. Lots of vacancies as a head coach or a co-ordinator available with a bunch of other coaches also being fired - so I think it unlikely he will come back to the CFL.
Other coaches canned include Rex Ryan of the Jets and Mike Smith of the Falcons. Also Jim Harbaugh and the 49’ers agreed to part ways and rumour has it that he is on his way to an $8 million per year job at The Big House in Ann Arbor at University of Michigan.
Trestman’s failure is also a black-mark for the CFL, with many columnist’s saying the Bears GM was so stupid for hiring a head coach from the CFL (when Ariens was available and went 11-5 or whatever, blah, blah, blah). Unfortunately this has put the CFL back a notch and it’ll be many years before another coach is hired from the CFL. Ditto Popp who might be damaged goods now for any NFL team to put into a position of responsibility.
We all know Trestmand is a good coach, but unfortunately all this is a result of a starting QB who failed to execute the offence and who obviously has some ongoing personal problems.
He’s a good Coach but inteerstingly he showed the same weaknesses in Chicago as he did in Montreal. Complete lack of interest in defense and special teams, that and Cutler are the reasons he failed in Chicago.
Cutler played a huge role in the Bears collapsing ,that will be reflected as well. As soon as he was hired , Cutler was an Anchor and Trestman was stuck with him .
Agreed. The whole CFL background as a problem is being overplayed I think. There may be some of that coming out of the Chicago area as they start to dissect the team, but I don’t think it’s as prevalent an issue as some think. I’ve seen and heard many a NFL or US sports program on TV and radio where they’ve talked about Trestman and the general idea is that he would be a popular candidate for an OC. His first year he had the Bears offense working at a pretty good rate, 2nd in points scored and 5th in passing offense while managing to shave off about 10 sacs allowed on the season from the prior year. This year the offense fell apart and a lot of that had to do with execution. Cutler had a terrible year and because of the contract he was stuck with having to start the highest paid QB in the NFL.
I think the most troubling thing for Trestman is not his CFL background but reports that he had lost the locker room and that players were ignoring the playcalling and not executing the playbook on the field. The players are now “anonymously” saying Trestman lost the locker room and there’s some suggestion it was because he didn’t do anything to his OC after he admitted to being an anonymous source badmouthing Cutler, and instead ended up benching Cutler. Seems though like the locker room issues started long before that with Brandon Marshall calling out Cutler earlier in the year. Maybe Trestman just doesn’t know how to cater to the egos and personalities that go along with some of the salaries in the NFL compared to the CFL. Still, I think Trestman as a “CFL guy” gets another coaching job in the NFL before Phil Emery, who’s a “NFL guy” gets another GM job.
Good read wolverine. I wouldn't doubt that being a head coach in the NFL does revolve a lot around how to handle egos rather than the nuts and bolts of actual coaching duties. If you're trying to please everyone, you're bound to fail for sure.
Interesting indeed.
I think his reputation as a coach has been significantly damaged by his tenure in Chicago.
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Trestman's failure is also a black-mark for the CFL, with many columnist's saying the Bears GM was so stupid for hiring a head coach from the CFL (when Ariens was available and went 11-5 or whatever, blah, blah, blah). Unfortunately this has put the CFL back a notch and it'll be many years before another coach is hired from the CFL. Ditto Popp who might be damaged goods now for any NFL team to put into a position of responsibility.
We all know Trestmand is a good coach, but unfortunately all this is a result of a starting QB who failed to execute the offence and who obviously has some ongoing personal problems.
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Do you have links for "many columnist's saying the Bears GM was so stupid for hiring a head coach from the CFL"?
Your overstating the "damage" to the CFL is ridiculous.
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I agree with your comments, here is an article on Trestmand with comments relative to CFL.
I was in Chicago for work, the week the Bears hired Trestman, I can tell you that is all people talked about was him coming from the CFL. Some did thing it was good, but lots of people said the same thing to me. If he bombs, the CFL will take a hit. Be that right or wrong. No one will win with Cutler, end of story
I've met Bears fans, both south and north of the border. Many are simpletons, passionate fans but simpletons, and that's being nice about them (well many sports fans to be honest, not just to single out Bears fans of course). Of course they will blame him coaching in the CFL for the Bears bad season, par for the course. If he coached at a top NCAA football program, they'd blame that school and the fact it was "just" college/university as well. No biggy on that one. Or if he coached a team like the Bills that haven't made the playoffs in how ever many years. They'd blame it on him not coaching in a top NFL team and city. I get that, we all do.
It's pro sports, this isn't "evidence-based work", it's about winning and if you don't win, then all excuses from one end of the galaxy to the other will emerge, that's the beast of pro sports or any sports program that demands winning seasons year after year.
Look at the Edmonton Oilers and what's going to emerge from that nightmare of NHL hockey. That is a disaster with the talent they have equally up there with the Bears and Cutler is a qb I don't think I'd want on the TigerCats to be honest. Collaros or Cutler, not even close. The players on the Bears don't respect Cutler at all, it's a nightmare there in Chicago. Like Edmonton.
I always though Trestman would have a hard time as an authority figure in the NFL because he looks like the nerd that jocks who were bullies would beat up in high school. Guy looks like the head of the Chess Club who still hasn't figured out how to comb his hair. That would be in addition to the fact in America, the CFL perceived to be just a league made up of 40 year-old ex-NFL'ers.
I don’t know if his lack of authority came so much from having a CFL background or his looksg. Trestman had a history of working in the NFL and he’s had success in the CFL, championship success no less. So what if it is “only the CFL” in some eyes. Same can be said for some NCAA coaches that have bowl success. So what, there’s what, a hundred bowl games and many NCAA coaches fail to make it past a year or two as NFL coaches as well.
The main thing is the stage of the NFL vs the CFL and NCAA requires the coaches to have a different style of authority. The locker rooms and personalities are all together different. In the CFL you have a a roster with a bunch of imports who are looking to just stay in football and support families with a paycheck, some guys looking to springboard some CFL success into a NFL tryout, etc. The toughest coaching decisions in some cases come to the national/international make up of the roster where you may not necessarily get to play the best player you have at a position. But overall, players are just “hungrier” and ones that don’t fit are more easily dispensed with. NCAA players have a more structured schedule of academics, training, practicing, and games and where coaches recruit players they want and it’s easy to get players you no longer want to sit on the bench or transfer out. The NFL players are different. Players get special treatment based on draft status, contract value, and tenure. There’s more ego involved in the locker rooms. All in all, these factors lead to some sense of entitlement and a degree of complacency, and their egos get miffed pretty easily if they don’t like something. All in all, it just takes a different type of coaching where you have to earn or command the respect in the dressing room because it’s harder to get rid of most of them than it is the coach. You can’t just expect the players to be professional, show up, learn the playbook, and go out and execute the plays you call for them. Trestman maybe had that last year but he lost it this year and once you bruise the itty bitty ego of one or two of your overpaid “talented” players, you’re basically finished as a HC, regardless of what your background may be. Look at Mike Pettine, the HC of the Cleveland Browns. Does any one believe he has any respect in that locker room with the antics of Manziel and Gordon and how he’s handled the team this year? Just a couple of days after Manziel has a presser talking about how he needs to grow up and be more professional he goes out partying and drinking with buds before the last game of the season, skipping out on rehab? And his punishment is what, a small fine and his name at the top of the QB depth chart for 2015?
Some comments on the how’s and why’s of Trestman getting fired point to his player decisions and perhaps playing some favorites as to how he lost the locker room and was doomed:
1. The locker room: Looking to change up a locker-room culture that was already established by outgoing coach Lovie Smith, Trestman rearranged the lockers -- which in the past were grouped by position -- into a random pattern in an effort to coax players to get to know one another better. The move didn’t result in any pushback from the team, but the coaching staff’s frequent presence in the locker room did rub several players the wrong way.
Captains, or lack thereof: In the past, the Bears elected captains prior to the season. In Trestman’s second year, he decided to name captains on a rotating basis. None of the players complained publicly, but behind the scenes many were miffed by the coach’s decision.
Martellus Bennett’s training camp suspension: On the surface, suspending Bennett for conduct detrimental to the team after he slammed rookie Kyle Fuller to the ground after a training camp fight was the right thing to do, and it established a level of expectation. But later, the feeling was Trestman administered discipline inconsistently. Had Trestman taken a hard-line stance such as this with all transgressions, perhaps the team would have been more successful, or at least cohesive. Instead, the coach’s inconsistent levying of discipline led to a lack of trust from players inside the locker room.
Double Nickel Smokehouse: Sure, it was Labor Day. But you don’t let one of your top defensive players miss the first day of preparation for the season opener to open up a restaurant. But that’s precisely what Trestman did in allowing linebacker Lance Briggs to skip a practice for the opening of his restaurant, the Double Nickel Smokehouse, in Elk Grove, California. None of the players complained publicly, but surely the move couldn’t have gone over well with everyone in the locker room. At the very least, Trestman’s decision to give Briggs the day off created an unnecessary distraction.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer’s criticism of Jay Cutler: Venting to an NFL Network reporter after a Dec. 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Kromer became an anonymous source for a report in which the club was said to have “buyer’s remorse” regarding quarterback Jay Cutler. Four days after the loss, Kromer apologized to the team and Cutler during a team meeting, admitting he was the anonymous source in the story. Trestman said the matter would be handled “internally,” but it appears the offensive coordinator received little more than a slap on the wrist. Again, inconsistent discipline.
Brandon Marshall: The mercurial receiver called out Cutler in the locker room, according to a source, after an Oct. 19 loss to the Miami Dolphins, and later challenged a Detroit Lions fan to a fight on Twitter. Don’t forget about Marshall’s strange, rambling 45-minute news conference to address allegations of domestic violence from the past, in addition to his admission he understood the organization feeling “buyer’s remorse” regarding Cutler’s monstrous contract and lack of production. Trestman also allowed the receiver to do a weekly appearance on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” in New York, not to mention Marshall signing his contract extension on “The View.” It seemed Trestman allowed Marshall to do whatever he wanted, and not everyone in the locker room was on board with it.
Benching of Cutler: A week after the Kromer drama, Cutler tossed three interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 55.8 in a 31-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field. So, just 14 games into Cutler’s $126.7 million contract, Trestman made the decision to bench the quarterback. Asked whether general manager Phil Emery was on board with the move, Trestman paused five seconds – an indication that perhaps the two weren’t on the same page. Remember, just a week earlier, Kromer admitted to breaching the trust of the organization and the players, and wasn’t disciplined harshly. Cutler produced a bad game and was benched. Multiple players in the locker room noted the unevenness in how Trestman dealt with Kromer and Cutler, with Gould later coming out on the record to voice complaints about the quarterback’s benching.
Players speaking out: This took place on multiple occasions throughout the season, with the most notable being cornerback Tim Jennings, Gould and Marshall on various radio shows. It’s a troubling sign when the players don’t believe in the head coach.
As I say, he could come from a very high profile NCAA Div 1 school and the same excuse would be told, just college. In the CFL some will say “just CFL” and even a small market NFL team like Buffalo it would be “couldn’t cut it with a more high profile larger fanbase team like the Bears”. The way it is. When you don’t win in a city like Chicago with the Bears, all excuses under the sun will come out but as in life, it’s usually far more complicated that a single excuse that makes sense to many for simplicity sakes. Waiter, another beer please.
Trestman was the OC for the Raiders it went to the Superbowl in 2002. He was criticized for not changing Gruden’s offence enough after Gruden left the Raiders for Tampa Bay after the 2001 season, which, some argue, caused Tampa Bay to blow the Raiders out in the championship. I personally don’t buy this theory and believe the Raiders were just beaten on that particular day.
Trestman is a good coach and this will likely be proven when Chicago fails to win many more games next year with the quarterback they have.
Trestman's coached various positions in both the NFL and NCAA for 25 years before becoming a CFL head coach. Only a bonehead would dismiss the CFL altogether over his firing. By that same reasoning, you should never promote a former NFL QB coach as a head coach either because he did that for about six different clubs. It's nonsense.
It amazes me the amount of generalization that goes on in the NFL like that. One guy recently questioned whether Andy Dalton would ever take the next step because he could not recall one successful past QB who had red hair. Good gravy...