Promoting Marinelli is a Desperate Move by Bears

The search for the next Bears’ defensive coordinator is over, but presents no new faces. Instead the job was given to the now former defensive line coach, Rod Marinelli.

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“Rod is among the best defensive coaches in the NFL, and will be an excellent defensive coordinator for us,” head coach Lovie Smith said in a statement. “We considered outside possibilities, but I didn’t feel our defense would benefit the same way it will with Rod in the coordinator role.

“From the first day I became head coach of the Chicago Bears, I envisioned Rod as our defensive coordinator. I considered him for the role last year, but wanted him to have the opportunity to work exclusively with our defensive line and become acclimated to our team. He will remain in our defensive line room, but will add the responsibility of the defensive calls on game day.”

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With this promotion the Bears end the much publicized search for coordinators. While it wasn’t a huge surprise of this promotion, there had been many reports saying that this promotion was bound to happen, I feel some kind of disappointment.

Marinelli is not an upgrade at all. He hasn’t held a coordinator position in 33 years, and I remember Lovie saying that Marinelli did not really want the job anyway.

Here is what Lovie said Jan. 5th:“I’ve talked to Rod about all of the different things I am going to do. Rod would like to be in his position of being an assistant head coach, and helping me with other things like that, and coaching the defensive line. That’s a full-time job.

This promotion seems like an emergency plan. They didn’t seem to have any other option other than Perry Fewell, and after he signed with the Giants, no other names came out as possible candidates.

Nonetheless the Bears are hopefully going into the right direction. The signing of Mike Martz is a huge a step into the right direction. This promotion doesn’t look to be the same way.