The New Look Bears

By Darren Zaitlen

Phil Emery is etching his name into Chicago Bears history with the hire of Marc Trestman as the new head coach of the franchise. Along with the firing of Lovie Smith it seems that almost every coach/assistant is going out the door as well.

We have come to find out that Mike Tice has been let go and been replaced with Aaron Kromer who was the offensive line coach in New Orleans. He also served as the interim head coach for the first six games of the season. In case you didn't know,the New Orleans Saints run a pretty good offense down there that has given up very few sacks over the years and scored points in bunches. Kromer will replace Tice as the offensive coordinator as well as the offensive line coach.



Furthermore, when Dave Toub interviewed for the head coaching job and wasn't chosen, his fate had pretty much been sealed that he wouldn't be back with the Bears. It would be awkward in the locker room for Toub to be there after he was passed over for the position. So the Bears have let Toub leave to join the Chiefs while bringing in another quality special teams coordinator in Joe DeCamillis from Dallas. There should not be much drop off between Toub and DeCamillis.

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Then there was Trestman's press conference in which he sounded excited, confident, but more importantly seemed like he had a plan set in place for everything. From daily practices up to the Super Bowl parade Trestman definitely has a plan for the Chicago Bears. It also sounds like he is going to be very hands on with Jay Cutler with a plan to make him prosper in a new, quarterback friendly, offense.

Leaving the Bears' coaching staff along with Lovie, Tice and Toub are Jeremy Bates (Quarterbacks Coach), Bob Babich (Linebackers coach), Mike DeBord (Tight ends coach), Darryl Drake (Wide receivers coach), Tim Holt (Offensive line coach), and Tim Spencer (Running backs coach). This way Trestman can bring in who he wants to create a brand new offense. This includes their new running backs coach from Dallas Skip Peete.

One of the few coaches the Bears wanted to maintain was Rod Marinelli for the defense. After all the Bears had a great defense last year with players that have been in the same system for years (some for their entire careers). However, Trestman informed the Chicago media that Rod Marinelli has chosen to move on. This leaves a lot of questions in regards to the defense.

Will the Bears try and hire somebody to maintain the Cover-2 philosophy or at least keep a base 4-3 defense? Or will the Bears finally give in and not be the only team to have never played any 3-4 defense in their entire history? It's an intriguing question to say the least. Even though the Bears have a great core group to continue playing the 4-3/Cover-2, I think they could somehow manage to switch to the 3-4.

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I think Emery knew that the change was eventually coming which is why he drafted Shea McClellin in the first round last year. I think if the Bears are confident that Urlacher can stay healthy next year they will resign him. It could work if you take McClellin and put him as an outside linebacker and put Julius Peppers on the other side while simultaneously putting Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher as the two middle linebackers where they can cover the middle of the field. They can also use Nick Roach in any of those positions as well. The only problem with the 3-4 for the Bears is getting that big defensive tackle that can plug the run like a Vince Wilfork. The Bears should resign Henry Melton and if he bulks up a bit could be that DT in the middle. Surround him with Idonije and Paea/Toeaina/Wootton to form the line. They already have two Pro Bowl corners in Tim Jennings and Charles Tillman and two maturing safeties in Chris Conte and Major Wright. Converting to a 3-4 might not be such a stretch after all.

First and foremost though the Bears need to be huge players in free agency in regards to offensive lineman. There are numerous big names available such as Ryan Clady and Jake Long. It's all a matter of whether or not their current teams wish to franchise them or sign them long term. The Bears can also address the line issues in the draft. In addition to the OLine the Bears are also in dire need for a tight end. That could mean drafting one, making a trade for an Aaron Hernandez or signing a Jared Cook. At this point anything is better than Kellen Davis.

 They will also need to draft at least one franchise linebacker to replace Urlacher at some point. While it may seem pretty farfetched, the new development with Manti T'eo and his fake dead girlfriend could lead to him falling in the draft. This could mean that the Bears get a steal and draft him at #20. Or they could look to trade up a couple of spots if he is still available at #15. After that the Bears should focus on the offensive line.

While there are many spots to be filled on the Bears and many questions still unanswered, I believe the Bears made a great choice with the hiring of Trestman and it seems like he is bringing in people who not only know how to run an offense but also know how to create a winning environment. Let's hope that this clean slate allows these Bears to go down in history just like the 85' Bears did more than 20 years ago.