Former Bear Can't Resist Trashing Marc Trestman in the XFL

It's really hard to get fired after just two seasons as a head coach in the NFL. That is unless you work for the Cleveland Browns. Never before had the Chicago Bears done this in their history with every previous coach getting at least three years at the helm. That is what made Marc Trestman truly special. He managed to sink to such a level that the normally patient George McCaskey pulled the plug after the coach's second season. He had good reasons to.

While he went 8-8 his first season, narrowly missing out on the division title, it became evident before too long that Trestman was in way over his head. His hands-off leadership style and lack of a commanding voice resulted in a fractured locker room where more outspoken players like Brandon Marshall began to get out of control. It got even worse in 2014 when he badly mishandled a situation with quarterback Jay Cutler that led to a national controversy stemming from offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer calling him out anonymously to the media.

If that weren't bad enough, Trestman oversaw the two worst defensive seasons in franchise history. Between 2013 and 2014, the Bears allowed 920 points. A staggering average of 28.75 per game. It marked just the second and third times Chicago defenses had allowed over 400 in a season ever. One of the victims of that disastrous decline was safety Chris Conte, who still has bad memories of those days. So much so that he called Trestman out during his forgettable debut as head coach of the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL.

Marc Trestman picked up right where he left off

One can understand why Conte is still bitter. Trestman's influence on the Bears' defensive decline led to him forever becoming a scapegoat in team history, giving up the fateful Hail Mary TD against the Green Bay Packers in the 2013 season finale. A play that cost the Bears the division title and cost him his job. After that, he was forever vilified for that mistake and clearly still harbors resentment to Trestman for it.

So it must've been rather satisfying as he watched the opening day performance of the coach's new team. The Vipers were on the road taking on the New York Guardians. Not only did Trestman's offense get shut down, the defense did little to keep the game close in a 23-3 blowout. Videos of the halftime locker room also went viral, showing the coach trying to motivate his players and not exactly inspiring much with his words.

Clearly the coach hasn't learned much from his shortcomings in Chicago. We know one thing for sure from all this. Conte probably isn't going to entertain offers from Tampa Bay if he considers a move to the XFL.