NFL: Coaches Who Will Get Fired On Black Monday
Marc Trestman, Chicago Bears (5-9, last place, NFC North)
The Chicago Bears went into the 2014 full of hope. Sure, their defense last season was the worst in team history, but the offense was second only to the Denver Broncos, so an offseason of making over the defense would solve the problem, and the Bears would be on their way to the playoffs, right? RIGHT?
Well, there was no fix on defense, there was no repeat of the offensive success, and there just was no special teams to speak of, so the result has been an awful, frustrating season.
One of the biggest selling points of having Trestman come to Chicago over Bruce Arians was the fact that Trestman was known as a quarterback whisperer. He has worked with quarterbacks in college and the NFL, and has resurrected their careers. Josh McCown was sitting on his couch eating potato chips, and he looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback when he filled in for Jay Cutler last season. He has a nice big contract because of Trestman.
Speaking of Jay Cutler, he has been one big headache. He too signed a nice contract, earning $126 million over seven years, with $54 million guaranteed.
That contract turned out to be a big mistake. He could have been franchised after last season and could have walked away without costing the Bears so much. The thought was Trestman would be able to get the best out of Cutler. That has not turned out to be the case and now the Bears are handcuffed.
Trestman seems to have lost the locker room. Reports are that he is lax with his discipline of players, letting them take care of things themselves. That has resulted in the patients running the asylum. The players don’t respect Trestman as a leader.
With previous coach Lovie Smith (as with most teams), there was a leadership structure. There were set team captains in Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman.
When Trestman took over, he took that away. Urlacher was not re-signed, and Briggs and Tillman weren’t official captains anymore. Now if there is a problem, there are no players that can lead their teammates on the field or in the locker room.
That bore out after a loss to the Dolphins. There was a locker room blowout involving Brandon Marshall. He was trying to act as a leader, but Briggs would just roll his eyes and walk away. The players need to be themselves, but they also need some structure, or chaos will ensue the way it has in Chicago.
With Trestman there is no player accountability. When something bad happens on the field, all you get from the coach is “We’ll work on that.” Just this week, Cutler was benched. This is a move that should have been made weeks ago, if only to light a fire under a quarterback who’s had no life or emotion for the better part of the season.
If Trestman makes the move earlier and the backup, Jimmy Clausen, does well, it might have made Cutler come alive. Now, with his job in jeopardy, Trestman will try anything.
Trestman’s play calling has also been bad. He has one of the premiere running backs in the NFL in Matt Forte. Yet week after week, he neglects Forte in the running game while he calls 50 passing plays a game. Even Cutler admitted the Bears couldn’t win throwing so much, but game after game, the passes keep coming and the losses keep piling up.
Things have gotten so bad in Chicago that even the general manager, Phil Emery, is on the hot seat. He chose Trestman over Bruce Arians, and now Arians has his Arizona Cardinals with the best record in the NFL, while the Bears are going to be looking for another coach.
The fans have grown restless over the shenanigans going on with the Chicago Bears. Boos have reigned supreme at Soldier Field and things have gotten to the point where no argument for keeping Trestman can be a winning one.