Of course now Marc Trestman will be hired as the new head coach of the Bears, and Jimmy Johnson will be the new Bob Woodward or something, and I’ll just be the latest village idiot blogger man. In short, the normal state of the universe will remain in place.
At about 4:30 a.m. ET this morning (really Jimmy? Elder bodies need sleep), Johnson tweeted this…
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
We were abundantly aware of that first development, Jimmy, but thanks. It’s the second one that’s interesting.
While the Bears’ interest in Trestman is obvious since the Montreal Alouettes head coach was among the 57 candidates interviewed so far after Lovie Smith was canned (he had an eight-hour interview Monday), the notion that his hiring is anything close to a formality seems way off base. Sure, Johnson is obviously connected after spending many years not just in the NFL, but more generally in and around football. He was the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes during their bad boy days that inspired the worst of the ESPN 30 for 30 docs, and since his retirement he’s spent Sundays sitting among the narrative spewers on Fox’s panel. He knows people, and people know him. This much is clear.
And sure, Trestman is getting serious consideration, especially since he has extensive coaching experience that goes beyond the CFL. He’s held various NFL and college coaching positions, most notably as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in several pro outposts (Oakland, Arizona, San Francisco, Cleveland). But I’ll take the word of the guys who report things and stuff for a living over Johnson’s random early-morning tweeting.
Like, say, this guy…
I do not believe there’s any validity to the Jimmy Johnson tweet about #Bears and Marc Trestman. Phil Emery still has interviews coming up
— Sean Jensen (@seankjensen) January 11, 2013
Or this guy…
To clarify last tweet: Jimmy Johnson tweeted a few hours ago Trestman would get Bears job. Premature. Still interviews to be done.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 11, 2013
Oh, and this guy…
My understanding of the Bears’ process is that the coaching search is it’s still ongoing. No decisions made yet. Sorry, Twitter.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2013
Again, Johnson could be right, and it’s quite possible that simply due to his connections within the league he knows something. But at this point the Bears’ search seems the furthest from settled of the remaining five head coach vacancies. Jensen also ran down the list of the candidates still lined up for interviews by Bears GM Phil Emery, and it’s rather lengthy:
Emery has several more interviews lined up: Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison tonight in Houston, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in Atlanta Saturday and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in Indianapolis Sunday. In addition, Emery will interview Minnesota Vikings assistants Mike Preifer and Mike Singletary in Atlanta sometime this weekend, presumably before leaving the southern city for Indianapolis.
Emery noted during his press conference two days after the 2012 season ended that he planned to do an extensive search then bring two or three finalists to Halas Hall to visit with team chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips.
So we’ll wait as the carousel continues it’s rotating in Chicago. And then likely wait some more.
