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Evaluations still ongoing for Tucker, Bears coaching staff
By Dan Wiederer, Tribune reporter
1:54 p.m. CST, January 10, 2014
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Bears’ season ended with a 33-28 home loss to the Packers. But for those seeking a definitive answer on the shape of the coaching staff for 2014, the message remains the same: stay tuned.
Head coach Marc Trestman, with feedback from the front office, is still in the process of evaluating his staff and formulating decisions for its future. And that means defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s job status has yet to be cemented – one way or the other.
Tucker’s future was a hot topic at the end-of-the-year press conference that Trestman and General Manager Phil Emery held at Halas Hall on Jan. 2. Both Trestman and Emery have voiced their confidence in Tucker’s abilities but stopped short last week of assuring his return for 2014.
“Everything is on the table,” Trestman said. “And we’re going through a very thoughtful and methodical process here. ... We’re going to look at everything because we have an obligation to do that. And that starts with me. And what I can do to get this football team better?”
Bears assistant coaches were given the past two weeks off following the end of the season but that has not hindered the internal evaluations of the staff.
Tucker, in his first year with the Bears, presided over a defense that allowed a franchise-record 6,313 yards. The Bears finished 30th overall in yards allowed (394.6) and dead last against the run (161.4 ypg).
Injuries were a major factor in the slide with five opening day starters missing a combined 43 games due to injury. That included season-ending injuries to Pro Bowl defensive tackle Henry Melton and cornerback Charles Tillman as well as a shoulder fracture that sidelined Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs for seven games.
The Bears’ season ended with consecutive losses in which Tucker’s defense was very much culpable. In a 54-11 loss at Philadelphia in Week 16, the Bears allowed 514 total yards and 289 on the ground.
“We’re going to do more to evaluate that game and why it went south,” Trestman promised last week.
In losing to Green Bay in the regular season finale, a defeat that prevented the Bears from winning the NFC North, the defense surrendered 473 yards. That included a 15-yard touchdown by Packers receiver Jarrett Boykin on a recovered fumble that he scooped and scored with only after the Bears’ defense stopped playing without a whistle, believing Aaron Rodgers’ fumble was an incomplete pass.
The defense’s final play of the season resulted in a 48-yard Rodgers to Randall Cobb touchdown pass on fourth-and-8 in the final minute, a score that occurred after safety Chris Conte never received word for the secondary to switch into man coverage with an all-out blitz called.
A full season's worth of inconsistency and struggle left the Bears seeking a more thorough evaluation of Tucker in addition to a full assessment of the defensive staff.
“The whole protocol is something that we have to be accountable for,” Trestman said. “And I have to be accountable as the head coach in why did this happen. And how if these situations do come up (do you handle them)? Because injuries in the National Football League are no excuse. Every team has gone through that and is able, at times, to overcome that. Did we do everything we could to overcome it? That starts with me and that will be part of this process.”
Members of the Bears’ coaching staff and front office will head to Mobile, Ala., the week of Jan. 18 to attend the Senior Bowl. Next week, the East-West Shrine game will be played in Florida.
It’s presumed the Bears ideally wouldn’t want to string Tucker along too far. But to this point no decisions have been made and Trestman said at his year-end presser that he didn't feel deadline pressure to finalize his decisions.
“This is a process,” Trestman said last week. “This is going to involve not just myself but all of our coaches. And it’ll be a process where we’ve left everything on the table and we’ll evaluate everything. ... Decisions will be made when we have to make them.”
dwiederer@tribune.com
Twitter @danwiederer
Copyright © 2014 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC
By Dan Wiederer, Tribune reporter
1:54 p.m. CST, January 10, 2014
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Bears’ season ended with a 33-28 home loss to the Packers. But for those seeking a definitive answer on the shape of the coaching staff for 2014, the message remains the same: stay tuned.
Head coach Marc Trestman, with feedback from the front office, is still in the process of evaluating his staff and formulating decisions for its future. And that means defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s job status has yet to be cemented – one way or the other.
Tucker’s future was a hot topic at the end-of-the-year press conference that Trestman and General Manager Phil Emery held at Halas Hall on Jan. 2. Both Trestman and Emery have voiced their confidence in Tucker’s abilities but stopped short last week of assuring his return for 2014.
“Everything is on the table,” Trestman said. “And we’re going through a very thoughtful and methodical process here. ... We’re going to look at everything because we have an obligation to do that. And that starts with me. And what I can do to get this football team better?”
Bears assistant coaches were given the past two weeks off following the end of the season but that has not hindered the internal evaluations of the staff.
Tucker, in his first year with the Bears, presided over a defense that allowed a franchise-record 6,313 yards. The Bears finished 30th overall in yards allowed (394.6) and dead last against the run (161.4 ypg).
Injuries were a major factor in the slide with five opening day starters missing a combined 43 games due to injury. That included season-ending injuries to Pro Bowl defensive tackle Henry Melton and cornerback Charles Tillman as well as a shoulder fracture that sidelined Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs for seven games.
The Bears’ season ended with consecutive losses in which Tucker’s defense was very much culpable. In a 54-11 loss at Philadelphia in Week 16, the Bears allowed 514 total yards and 289 on the ground.
“We’re going to do more to evaluate that game and why it went south,” Trestman promised last week.
In losing to Green Bay in the regular season finale, a defeat that prevented the Bears from winning the NFC North, the defense surrendered 473 yards. That included a 15-yard touchdown by Packers receiver Jarrett Boykin on a recovered fumble that he scooped and scored with only after the Bears’ defense stopped playing without a whistle, believing Aaron Rodgers’ fumble was an incomplete pass.
The defense’s final play of the season resulted in a 48-yard Rodgers to Randall Cobb touchdown pass on fourth-and-8 in the final minute, a score that occurred after safety Chris Conte never received word for the secondary to switch into man coverage with an all-out blitz called.
A full season's worth of inconsistency and struggle left the Bears seeking a more thorough evaluation of Tucker in addition to a full assessment of the defensive staff.
“The whole protocol is something that we have to be accountable for,” Trestman said. “And I have to be accountable as the head coach in why did this happen. And how if these situations do come up (do you handle them)? Because injuries in the National Football League are no excuse. Every team has gone through that and is able, at times, to overcome that. Did we do everything we could to overcome it? That starts with me and that will be part of this process.”
Members of the Bears’ coaching staff and front office will head to Mobile, Ala., the week of Jan. 18 to attend the Senior Bowl. Next week, the East-West Shrine game will be played in Florida.
It’s presumed the Bears ideally wouldn’t want to string Tucker along too far. But to this point no decisions have been made and Trestman said at his year-end presser that he didn't feel deadline pressure to finalize his decisions.
“This is a process,” Trestman said last week. “This is going to involve not just myself but all of our coaches. And it’ll be a process where we’ve left everything on the table and we’ll evaluate everything. ... Decisions will be made when we have to make them.”
dwiederer@tribune.com
Twitter @danwiederer
Copyright © 2014 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC
