(CBS) Former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs didn’t hold back Monday when asked what he thought of the end of career, which included playing his final two seasons under former coach Marc Trestman in 2013 and 2014.
“Everybody in Chicago knows that Trestman shouldn’t have been here,” Briggs said in an interview on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Monday. “He shouldn’t have been a coach here. Not to take anything from him, he’s a great coach, but he wasn’t a coach the Chicago Bears should’ve had. That’s just the truth. I was one of the guys, (Charles) Peanut (Tillman) was one of the guys that had to live through that those next two years (in 2013 and 2014), where if it ain’t broke, then what are you trying to fix? I know we wanted to improve our offense, but we had a team that …. should’ve been in the championship game. We went 10-6 and should’ve been in the playoffs. The year before, we were in the (NFC) championship game. So what exactly is it that you really need to fix about the team? We had great leadership and things like that, and you saw things kind of go in a different direction. It’s not the way you want to end your career, but I still had great relationships, from the coaches to the players and the city.”
Trestman was hired after the Bears fired Lovie Smith following a 2012 season in which they went 10-6 but missed out on the playoffs by virtue of losing a tiebreaker for a wild-card spot. Briggs’ reference to being in the “championship game” was actually referring to the 2010 season, in which the Bears went 11-5 before losing the NFC Championship game to the Packers.
Under Trestman, the Bears went 8-8 in 2013 and 5-11 in 2014, missing the playoffs both seasons. The 2014 season was one of the most embarrassing ones in Bears history, with a long line of drama, follies and off-the-field issues marking the campaign.
Briggs retired after the 2014 season.
Listen to Briggs’ full interview below. He also gives an update and what he’s up to nowadays, including his broadcasting work and running some football camps.
