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Today marked a new era for the Chicago Bears franchise when new head coach Marc Trestman was formally introduced in a press conference. Among mentioning his intent on improving the Bears’ current position in the league, Trestman also made it clear that defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will no longer be a part of the organization.
With that being said, we now have to wonder if Chicago’s defense will be the same going into the 2013 season. Not having Marinelli could possibly mean that the Bears could get a new coordinator who will implement a new defensive scheme that is drastically different from the 4-3, Cover-2 scheme that they have played for several years.
In the event that this happens, how will this affect the personnel currently on the roster? The veterans on Chicago’s defense are perfectly suited for the 4-3, Cover-2. If in fact the Bears get a defensive coordinator that wants to run a 3-4 scheme, many changes may be on the horizon.
This will definitely alter Chicago’s priorities a bit in this upcoming offseason. More importantly, this could play a big part in whether middle linebacker Brian Urlacher returns to the Bears for his 14th season.
There aren’t any potential candidates at this point to fill the defensive coordinator vacancy. However, if the Bears want to keep their defense in tact, they should promote linebackers coach Bob Babich to DC. Babich actually was Chicago’s defensive coordinator before Marinelli from 2007-09. This will definitely make Urlacher and company comfortable going into 2013.
Well, the Bears officially have the offensive-minded coach that they desperately needed. Now all they have to do is find the defensive coordinator to complement this new offense. Hopefully, it won’t take going through 13 candidates to figure it out.
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