Bears fire general manager, coach after missing playoffs
LAKE FOREST, Illinois—The Chicago Bears fired general manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman on Monday, making sweeping changes after missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.
Trestman is out after going 13-19 in two seasons while Emery lasted just three years. The Bears went 5-11 in a mostly miserable season, never challenging for the NFC North lead after the first few weeks as quarterback Jay Cutler and the rest of the offense struggled mightily.
“This job was an opportunity of a lifetime. My only regret is that we didn’t win enough games for that opportunity to continue,” Emery said in a brief session with reporters.
He also thanked the organization and borrowed a lyric from singer Carrie Newcomer, saying, “We stand breathless on the clean edge of change. It’s time to change and move forward.”
Emery did not take questions from reporters.
Trestman, in a statement issued through the team, thanked the team-owning McCaskey family for the opportunity to coach the Bears.
“I also want to thank all the coaches and players who gave us everything we asked over the past two years,” he said. “I have tremendous respect for this organization.”
The new-GM-and coach could have a big decision to make with quarterback Jay Cutler. He tied Philip Rivers for the league lead with 18 intercep- tions after signing a huge, seven-year contract at the end of last season.
The house cleaning was certainly not what the Bears envisioned with a prolific offense returning intact and a rebuilt defense in tow.
There were distractions throughout the year, whether it was linebacker Lance Briggs being allowed to miss practice to open a restaurant in California the week of the opener or offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer admitting he was the NFL Network’s source behind a critical report of Cutler late in the season.
Trestman, who was hired to get the most out of Cutler, benched the prized quarterback in favor of Jimmy Clausen for the second-to-last game of the season against Detroit.