Things went south quickly for Marc Trestman and the Bears in 2014, leading to a 5-11 record and the team’s decision to fire both Trestman and General Manager Phil Emery when the year came to an end.
Trestman’s leadership abilities have come under fire in the wake of his two-year stint in Chicago, something that tight end Martellus Bennett didn’t do much to argue against in an appearance on NFL Network on Friday. Bennett did say that he thinks a move to the offensive coordinator role with the Ravens will work out well for coach and team.
“Trestman, I think, first off, the issue that he had, probably, was managing us all, all the different personalities,” Bennett said. “There’s a lot of big personalities. And I think, for a first-time head coach in the NFL, dealing with all the personalities that you have, I think that’s hard when you got guys like me, you know, [Brandon] Marshall … Lance Briggs on defense, (Charles) Tillman … Calling plays, he was excellent. I think he’s going to be an excellent coordinator for the Ravens. Strategically, he was great. But on the field, guys just weren’t executing.”
Trestman’s issues dealing with those big personalities likely played a role in the Bears’ decision to install an experienced NFL head coach for the first time since George Halas’s second stint on the sideline. If John Fox can get a grip on the locker room, a reprise of the rapid turnarounds he pulled off in Carolina and Denver could be within reach.