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Bears Mon Feb 01 2010
Bears Name Mike Martz New Offensive Cooridnator
Following a thorough and extended search the Chicago Bears have named Mike Martz the team's offensive coordinator. For all intents and purposes the hunt for Ron Turner's replacement had turned into something of a farce with a number of worthy candidates balking at the opportunity to turn the Jay Cutler-led offense into a flourishing machine. With Martz's hiring that opportunity should present itself early and often with Martz earning his stripes as the offensive coordinator that turned Kurt Warner into a household name during the 1999-2000 offensive assault on the record books known as "The Greatest Show on Turf." Martz went from the OC for that St. Louis Rams team into the head coach who led the squad into another Super Bowl berth in the 2001 postseason. Known as much for his abrasive clashes with upper management and coaches as for his offensive genius, watching the events unfold off the field should be half the intrigue with Martz, Cutler, Lovie, et al next season. Two potential clashes that seem ready made for a soap opera? The "claimed beef" that Martz and current Bears defensive line coach, Rod Marinneli had while working together in Detroit. The second is the elephant in the room that Lovie Smith's teams are, in his own words, "a running off the bus team." Martz is very much a pass first, pass second, pass always coach, time will tell...
The Bears also named former Viking head coach, Mike Tice to the position of offensive line coach and the hunt is still on for a new defensive coordinator.