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Chicago Bears Veteran LB Brian Urlacher Retires

May 22nd, 2013 at 9:20 PM
By Serena Sanderson

'Brian Urlacher' photo (c) 2009, Mike Morbeck - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ The Chicago Bears lost veteran linebacker Brian Urlacher to retirement today. The Bears have long been known for their strong defense, and for the last 13 seasons, Urlacher has been a leader on that defense.

Chicago will be hard pressed to find a replacement for Urlacher, who averaged over 100 tackles per season.

"After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made a decision to retire," Urlacher said in a statement he posted on Twitter. "Although I could continue playing, I'm not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that's up to my standards. When considering this along with the fact I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear."

Urlacher also thanked everyone who helped him along the way and said that he would miss his teammates, coaches and Bears fans. He is happy with his decision and feels comfortable that this is the right time to go.

The Bears will certainly miss Urlacher in the coming months, and they will rely heavily on Lance Briggs during the season. Urlacher retires having never worn anything but the Chicago Bears logo. Number 54 will forever be regarded as one of the best linebackers to play the game.

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Lovie Smith’s Tenure as Chicago Bears Head Coach Should Be Remembered for Positives

January 18th, 2013 at 10:09 PM
By Kyle Smith

Lovie Smith. The head coach whose offense always ranked towards the bottom end of the NFL. The head coach driven out of town after the Chicago Bears failed to miss the playoffs after starting the 2012 season 7-1.

'Bears Game' photo (c) 2008, Tony - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
But wait a second here….isn’t this the same Lovie Smith that lead the Chicago Bears to only their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history?

And for that matter, it was Lovie Lee Smith who was wearing the headset on the sidelines. The only other head coach to lead the Bears to two NFC Title games was Hall of Fame head coach Mike Ditka.

Then why was there so much pressure from general manager Phil Emery to fire Smith? The answer to that question might be how the Bears compare to other teams in total passing yards. The past three seasons have seen the Chicago Bears rank 28th, 26th and 29th in passing yardage from 2010-2012. This is a problem that Smith has not seemed to solve, but it is important to remember that Smith is a defensive genius, not an offensive one. Should Smith have taken more control of the offense and not relied purely on the schemes of his offensive coordinators? Probably, but don’t forget that Smith might not know how to create an offensive scheme around a gunslinger quarterback like Jay Cutler.

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Chicago Bears Fire Every Offensive Coach

January 17th, 2013 at 9:57 PM
By PJ Foti

'IMG_1487' photo (c) 2009, John Martinez Pavliga - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Marc Trestman is looking for a fresh start with the Chicago Bears.

Every coach on the offensive side of the football has been let go since the hiring of Trestman as the team's 14th head coach in its history.

The offense was terrible for Chicago this year, at times looking lost as they were unable to put points on the board. Trestman was hired to fix that and has removed every member from that unit as a whole.

Mike Tice was brought to Chicago two years ago as the team's offensive line coach, and was promoted to offensive coordinator this season. Despite having both Tice and Tim Holt — the team's offensive line coach this year — on the sideline, that particular unit was embarrassed all year and the squad finished in the Top 10 in sacks allowed this season.

Darryl Drake, the team's wide receivers coach who has been with the organization since 2004 has also been let go. As well as tight ends coach Mike DeBord and running backs coach Tim Spencer.

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Rod Marinelli Won’t Return as Defensive Coordinator for Chicago Bears

January 17th, 2013 at 9:37 PM
By PJ Foti

While Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was searching for a new head coach for the team, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli wasn't even a candidate.

When he hired Marc Trestman as head coach, the move put Marinelli's fate with the team in jeopardy, so he took matters into his own hands by rejecting a one-year contract extension from the team.

The Bears' defense was the highlight of the team this season. The defense put up plenty of points this year, and outscored every other defense in the league. Marinelli's work with the unit wasn't good enough for a head coaching position with the team after the firing of Lovie Smith, and he and Trestman weren't on the same page as one of Trestman's first announcements when being named head coach was that Lovie Smith wouldn't be returning.

Chicago finished 10-6 last season, and have been a defensive minded football team for as long as anyone can remember. The hiring of Trestman shows a new direction for the franchise as he's more geared toward the offensive side of the football.

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Chicago Bears Hire Marc Trestman to Replace Lovie Smith

January 16th, 2013 at 10:40 AM
By PJ Foti

The Chicago Bears closed their search for the 14th head coach in team history by making the decision to hire Montreal Alouettes' Marc Trestman in the wee hours of the morning.

Bears general manager Phil Emery decided on Trestman after an exhausting interviewing process that included 12 known candidates for the position, as well as three second interviews.

This will be Trestman's first goaround as a head coach in the NFL.

He's known as a quarterback guru who has been an assistant with eight NFL teams in the past. He has also, however, been out of the league for past eight years. He'll replace Lovie Smith, a defensive minded coach, who was fired on Dec. 31.

One reason for Trestman's hiring is definitely his offensive mind. He gears his game plans around his quarterback, something the Bears haven't done, probably in their history. Plus, Trestman has had a history with both quarterbacks on Chicago's roster as he helped both Jay Cutler and Jason Campbell prepare for their respective drafts.

Sources say Trestman, 57, will bring in former Saints interim head coach Aaron Kromer as his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach — the position held by Mike Tice this past season.

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