Marc Trestman became the 14th head coach in Chicago Bears history Wednesday morning, but who the heck is Marc Trestman?
Trestman is an offensive genius, having spent over 22 years in the coaching business in both the NFL and CFL. Trestman specializes in coaching great quarterbacks, coaching the likes of Bernie Kosar, Steve Young, Jake Plummer and Rich Gannon, just to name a few.
Trestman started out at the University of Miami in 1981 as only a volunteer, but quickly made himself known. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 1983 and won his only National Championship that same year with Kosar leading the crew. Trestman and Kosar would be reunited in the NFL in 1988 with the Cleveland Browns. Kosar, under the tutelage of Trestman, would lead the Browns to a 10-6 record in 1989 and an AFC championship game berth.
Trestman would become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 1995. In his first year, Young and the 49ers offense led the NFL in both points scored (457) and passing yards (4,779).
In 1998, Trestman would move on to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Arizona. This was that year that Plummer became highly popular around the league, leading the Cardinals to their first playoff appearance since 1982 and getting their first playoff win in 51 years.
Trestman’s next stop would be in Oakland in 2001 where he helped lead Gannon to a league MVP award in 2002. Under Trestman, the Raiders offense would lead the league in total offense with 389.8 yards per game, eventually reaching Super Bowl XXXVII.
The Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League introduced Trestman as their head coach in 2007. The Alouettes captured back-to-back Grey Cups (the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl) in 2009 and 2010. He would win coach of the year in 2010. Trestman’s quarterback, Anthony Calvillo, grabbed himself league MVP awards in both 2009 and 2010.
Now, Trestman is finally making his way back into the NFL for his very first head coaching job. There will be a lot of pressure on Trestman to win and win early as the Bears made the playoffs just once in six years.
The always ‘defensive minded’ Bears will switch gears under Trestman and look to become an offensive juggernaut around the league. He will look to turn around an offense that has only ranked as high as 23rd in the league since Jay Cutler arrived in 2009.
Trestman would like to follow in the steps of Bud Grant and Marv Levy, who followed similar paths through the NFL and CFL, on there way to becoming members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
History has shown Trestman can turn offenses around quickly, but he’s never had to have all the responsibilities that a head coach holds. Trestman will have to bear down fast, he’s going have your hands filled during the next few months in the Windy City.
