Black Monday Not The Focus For The Chicago Bears
Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Black Monday, otherwise known as the day after the NFL Regular Season concludes, figures to be a day in which significant changes are made within the Chicago Bears’ organization. Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman is expected to be fired along with the majority of his coaching staff and general manager Phil Emery has been on the hot seat for much of the past two weeks. Though, the Bears are not focusing on their fates on Black Monday.
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Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman admitted that he has heard the criticism during the Bears’ disappointing 2014 season but Trestman indicated that team is focusing on their last game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings and not the fact that there will be significant changes made to the Bears’ organization on Black Monday.
“We’re all getting earfuls, believe me, and certainly Mel’s getting his share,” Trestman said. “We all are, as we said. When you’re sitting here with the record that we have, everybody’s got something to say about it. That’s part of the job we have right now, and we’ve had, is to deal with it and move forward and get our guys ready to play. That’s where our responsibility lies, is the day-to-day process of doing our best as coaches to get our guys ready to play. That’s our job.”
Sunday’s game will all but close the book on Trestman’s run as the Bears’ head coach. Trestman is expected to be fired by the Bears shortly after the season concludes and Bears’ general manager Phil Emery has already met with the McCaskey family and identified how he is going to fix the team in addition to making the family aware of his head coaching candidates to replace Trestman.
Firing Trestman would also signal the end of the line for many of Trestman’s coordinators with the Bears. In particular, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Tucker spoke with reporters on Tuesday and is not worried about his future past this season.
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“No one is happy at this time about where we are,” Tucker said. “You can’t sugarcoat it and think everyone is just on Cloud 9 right now. But we have to be mature about it. You have to handle it. You’re going to have some moments, and we’ll just work through it. We still have one more game to play, and so that’s where our focus is. That’s why it’s difficult for me to reflect right now because we’re not in reflect mode. We’re in preparation mode for our last game. There will be plenty of time to reflect and look back. Right now, we’ve got a really big game ahead of us.”
The Bears do have a big game ahead of them because it is a game that the team needs to lose. If the Bears lose to the Vikings on Sunday, the team will finish with a record of 5-11 and will secure the seventh overall selection in the NFL Draft. A selection that can be very valuable to the Bears considering their needs on defense. If the Bears win on Sunday, however, there is a chance that they may fall in the draft to the 11th overall selection.
In any event, Sunday’s game against the Vikings will be the series’ finale for Trestman as the Bears’ head coach.