When the Chicago Bears hired Marc Trestman as their new head coach they were clearly thinking outside the box. Although Trestman's roots are in the NFL it's extremely unusual for teams to turn to the CFL for coaching candidates. Half of the teams that missed the playoffs this year fired their coach and already 4 of those teams have hired men with no head coaching experience. It appears they've decided the results couldn't be any worse than the previous regime.
In Jacksonville (2-14), Philadelphia (4-12), Cleveland (5-11), and Buffalo (6-10) I can understand that logic, but the Chicago bears were 10-6 this season. They have a top 10 quarterback, a top 10 defense, and 4 pro bowl players on their team. Conventional wisdom says a few minor tweaks would probably result in a playoff berth. Completely changing the culture and philosophy of the organization may do more harm than good. At the very least Chicago might have to take one step back to take two steps forward.
In Trestman's defense he was considered to have a brilliant offensive mind before he left for Canada. Steve Young, Rich Gannon, and Jerry Rice all sing his praises and those in the coaching fraternity say he's deserving of the opportunity. Still is it a wise move to hire someone that's been in a league where the rules are significantly different than the NFL?
I don't have a problem with Marc Trestman's credentials, but I do question the league he's coming from. The rules are different and the dimensions of the field aren't the same. In addition there's a reason those guys play for teams like the Edmonton Eskimos and the Toronto Argonauts. The talent level isn't on par with the NFL. Still I must admit I'm curious to see what kind of innovative schemes Trestman brings to the Bears. The franchise will either flourish in the new system or become the laughing stock of the league. Can't decide what I think the outcome will be. Your thoughts?
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