Does anybody remember the name Demontre Hurst? People who followed the Chicago Bears from 2014 to 2016 should. An undrafted free agent, he hung around on the roster for three years as a backup who occasionally saw the field. He actually had two interceptions, a forced fumble, a sack, and 59 tackles during that run. It's just unfortunate he was around during the worst period of defensive football in franchise history courtesy of former head coach Marc Trestman
He was there in 2014 when the Bears gave up 442 points. A primary reason they fired Trestman who'd clearly lost the locker room amidst several controversies. It must've been quite an eye-opening experience for Hurst who was a rookie at the time. When Trestman left in January of 2015, one can imagine he never thought he'd see the coach again. Let alone play for him.
Then, as Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic explains, the XFL called.
In the defensive backs portion of the draft, the Tampa Bay Vipers, coached by Trestman, picked Hurst in the third round, making him the 24th overall selection.
“It’s a small world,” Hurst said in a phone interview after practice this week. “He’s always been a great dude to me. A great coach in Chicago to me. His character speaks for itself. The opportunity to play for him again, I can’t put a name on it. I’m just grateful to be with a familiar face and knows my character and knows I’ll give it my all again.”
Marc Trestman seeking redemption in the XFL
There are plenty of former Bears in the XFL looking to find their way back to the NFL. Trestman is among them. He was brought aboard as head coach in Tampa Bay because of his experience in the NFL and also his success in the Canadian Football League. After his massive flameout in Chicago, he became the offensive coordinator in Baltimore for two seasons but was eventually fired. He returned to the CFL after that and hasn't gotten a sniff from teams since.
At age 64, this is probably his last chance to show the NFL he can still be an effective football coach. That or he can help elevate the profile of the XFL and perhaps restore some of his lost credibility. If nothing else, this should at least give Bears fans a passing interest in what happens. Either because they'd like to see him rebound or see another spectacular crash and burn.
