The Chicago Bears have found their man to replace Lovie Smith as head coach--at least according to Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson they have.
Johnson wrote on Twitter Friday that the Bears are preparing to hire Trestman as their new head coach, although the man who supposedly has the job has denied the story. "Looks like 2 of my guys getting NFL jobs..Chud Cleveland and my QB coach at U Trestman to Chicago," johnson wrote online.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Trestman later Friday denied the rumor in an email to the Montreal Gazette. "I have not heard from the Bears and have responded in that manner on multiple levels," Trestman wrote.
Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery currently has three interviews scheduled to find the replacement for Lovie Smith, who was fired on Black Monday following the conclusion of the 2012 season despite getting the Bears to finish with 10 wins.
According to the newspaper, Emery has met with Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements and is planning to meet with Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison on Friday. He is also scheduled to meet with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on Saturday in Atlanta and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on Sunday.
Johnson previously worked with Trestman at the University of Miami where he had him on staff as a quarterbacks coach. Trestman is currently the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL and has previous NFL experience working with Dolphins in 2004 as well as with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesoat Vikings among others.
Trestman has been extremely successful in the Canadian Football League, leading the Alouettes to three Grey Cup appearances, including two straight Grey Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010. Trestman also interviewed for the Cleveland Browns coaching job, but that was given to Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski on Thursday night.
Johnson did not specify that Trestman would be brought in as head coach, although the tweet did imply that he was. According to the Sun Time Blog, there's a chance that Trestman could be brought in for another role, possible offensive coordinator, a position he served in previously with the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.
Trestman would be one of the most interesting and innovative coaching candidates in recent memory. Teams usually only search around the NFL or dig into the college ranks to find a coach; not many search the Canadian Football League.
What makes Trestman intriguing though is that he has a good amount of NFL coaching experience and the idea that the wide open style of the CFL (who has a wider and longer field than the NFL) could reap offensive benefits for the Bears. The team has focused mainly on offensive-minded guys during their coaching search, their feeling being that the defense isn't what held the team back last year, but rather the offensive side of the ball.
Earlier on Friday, former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon spoke about the rumors on the radio to "Waddle & Silvy" on ESPN 1000, saying that Cutler could benefit from working with a coach like Trestman.
"This whole perception about Jay Cutler ... look, Jay Cutler at the end of the day wants to win," Gannon, the former Oakland Raiders quarterback and current TV analyst said Friday on "Waddle & Silvy" on ESPN 1000. "You've just got to find a way to get into his psyche and be able to figure him out, form a bond and a relationship and form a trust. When you are constantly changing things around the quarterback, it's hard to develop that continuity and trust factor."
Gannon knows Trestman from his time with the Raiders, when he was offensive coordinator from 2002 to 2003. Trestman has worked as an offensive coordinator with five NFL teams and was named CFL Coach of the Year in 2009.
"He's very innovative. He's a terrific playcaller," Gannon said. "He sees the game through the eyes of the quarterback. He played the position, he's coached the position. He's really an expert in that area. I think when you study Jay Cutler, here's a guy that under Mike Martz was sacked more than any quarterback in the league; he got knocked around, and I don't think he quite trusted the guys in front of him. That's all got to get cleaned up, and you've got to bring in somebody who can work with the protections and clean up that part of it. Clean up his footwork, clean up the mechanics, and get him feeling good again back in the pocket. I think that's what Marc does best."
Some in the media look at Trestman as an odd coaching candidate due to his job in Canada, but Gannon says that the coach isn't North of the border because he couldn't get an NFL job.
"He really was so fed up with the process. He wanted to be a head coach," Gannon said. "He had an opportunity to go to Canada. If you really follow this guy's career, with four different teams in his first year as a coordinator they've all gone to the postseason. He's had a lot of success working with quarterbacks. You go back to Bernie Kosar, Steve Young. Even the successful season that Scott Mitchell had in Detroit, Marc Trestman was the offensive coordinator. If you look at the success that Jake Plummer had in Arizona for a couple years, Marc Trestman was his coordinator. He's a very good playcaller. He's great with the development of quarterbacks."
The Bears were ranked 29th in passing yards last season despite having Jay cutler at quarterback and averaged 23 points per game, ranked 16th the league. Cutler had an up and down season, passing for 3,033 yards and 19 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 15 games played. The team had solid production from running back Matt Forte, but he also was banged up during the year, leaving Chicago without a consistent running game.
Making 2012 more disappointing for the Bears, the team started the year 7-1, losing only to the Green Bay Packers on the road in Week 2. The team then lost five of the next six games, winning only against Minnesota 28-10 in Week 12. The Bears ended the year with two straight wins and won on the final day of the regular-season, but were left out of the playoffs after the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers to clinch the final Wild Card spot.