Fox NFL Analyst Jimmy Johnson Says Bears Are Hiring Marc Trestman
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 11, 2013 4:00PM
Former coach and current Fox NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson caused a stir this morning when he announced the Bears would hire Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman. The Bears quickly gave a no comment to Tribune Bears beat reporter Brad Biggs and maintained the club’s position that GM Phil Emery’s search to replace Lovie Smith would be “fast, furious and thorough.”
Emery interviewed Trestman last week, but is still slated to interview other candidates this weekend and spoke with Green Bay offensive coordinator Tom Clements about the job Thursday. Why Johnson tweeted this out while Emery is leaving no stone unturned in his search is anyone’s guess. But Trestman does make an interesting coaching candidate.
In five seasons coaching Montreal, Trestman compiled a 59-31 record, three straight Grey Cup appearances and back-to-back Cup wins in 2009 and 2010. Sure, the Canadian Football League probably occupies a lower rung than Pop Warner ball here in the States, but many believe Trestman has the necessary tools to succeed as an NFL head coach and help Jay Cutler unlock his full potential as a signal caller. Former Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon told the Sun-Times he credited Trestman with developing him into an NFL MVP and Trestman’s NFL offenses in San Francisco and Oakland put up staggering numbers.
Trestman touts his quarterback consultant abilities on his website and lists Jimmy Clausen, Jason Campbell, Tim Tebow and Cutler as QBs whose skills he’s honed in preparation for the NFL Draft. Okay, maybe those names should be used as references. But Trestman did guide Gannon and Steve Young to some of their best seasons, helped Scott Mitchell pass for over 3,400 yards in Detroit and was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Arizona in 1998 when Jake Plummer threw for over 3,700 yards as the Cardinals won their first playoff game in 51 years.
It’s also worth noting Johnson didn’t specifically state the Bears hired Trestman as head coach. WSCR-AM midday host Dan McNeil theorized at the beginning of his show Friday that maybe Johnson was hoping Trestman would be hired by the Bears after Cleveland hired Rob Chudzinski as their coach. Both Trestman and Chudzinski worked as assistant coaches under Johnson and he mentioned Chudzinski in the same tweet.
Looks like 2 of my guys getting NFL jobs..Chud Cleveland and my QB coach at U Trestman to Chicago
— Jimmy Johnson (@JimmyJohnson) January 11, 2013