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Chicago Bears to Interview Canadian Football League’s Marc Trestman for Head Coaching Vacancy

The Chicago Bears are apparently taking an out-of-the-box approach to the post-Lovie Smith era.

Not one to limit themselves to the United States in an attempt to fill their head coaching vacancy, the Bears are set to interview Marc Trestman, who has spent the last five years coaching the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes. Over that period, Montreal has seen great success, going 59-31 and appearing in three Grey Cups (the CFL equivalent to the Super Bowl), winning two. News of the interview was first reported by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

Now, Trestman does have extensive experience coaching a game with less than 12 men on the field. The 56-year-old has never been a head coach at the NFL or NCAA level, but he did spend 16 years — through 2006 — in various coaching positions. Trestman’s career began as a quarterbacks coach with the University of Miami before taking on the same role with the eight different NFL teams. He returned to the NCAA as offensive coordinator of North Carolina State in 2005.

Of important note for the Bears is that Trestman has commonly worked with top NFL draft prospects, including Jay Cutler in the past.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Soldier Field