Chicago is pretty far north on a United States map. The Bears search for a head coach went even further upward. It continued right on out of the country as they chose Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman, who led the Canadian Football League franchise for five seasons, to take over for the fired Lovie Smith.
Trestman found success in the CFL as he won two Grey Cups and guided the Alouettes to four East Division titles and three appearances in the league’s championship game.
“(Trestman’s) contributions to our franchise, our community and the CFL have extended far beyond his very successful coaching record,” said Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall in a statement from the team.
Trestman spent 17 seasons as an assistant in the NFL before heading to Canada. The Bears front office has to be satisfied for the moment with the hire, but one of his former players questioned the move.
Legendary receiver Tim Brown, who saw his stats decline in 2002 when Trestman became the offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, was quoted as saying he was “shocked” by Chicago’s choice.
Trestman is stepping into a pretty tough spot. He’s taking over a team that despite an awful second half of the 2012 season still finished with a 10-6 mark. It’s not often that coaches get dismissed after 10-win seasons and anything less than a playoff berth next season could be looked at as a disappointment.
Along with the Raiders, Trestman’s NFL time included stops with the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins.
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