Bears hire 0-16 ex-Lions coach Rod Marinelli

How have the Chicago Bears chosen to respond to two years of under performance by a veteran laden and well compensated defense? By hiring the only man to ever coach an 0-16 team in NFL history of course. That’s right the Bears have hired former Lions head coach and Tampa Bay colleague of Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli to be their new defensive line coach and assistant head coach.

There are a lot of ways to spin this story, from continuing incompetence to the second coming of Bob Babich. Some of those concerns are legitimate, especially considering the last time the Bears went out of their way to bring in one of Lovie Smith’s pals the Bears defense dropped from top-10 to bottom-10. Also, it’s never particularly good PR to bring in the man in charge of the most imperfect team in league history to turn around a struggling unit.

However, while those criticisms have some validity it seems shortsighted to get hung up on the 0-16. After all former Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who was at the helm for their 1-15 season last year, is now the offensive coordinator for the AFC Championship game bound Ravens. It’s an important reminder that just because someone failed as a head coach doesn’t mean that they can’t be an important contributor to a coaching staff.

Rod Marinelli does still have the reputation as being one of the best defensive line coaches in the league. His work for 10 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is what helped land him the job with the Lions in the first place. Now after watching an entire Bears season and defense crumble because of their inability to pressure the quarterback it would be foolish to turn any help away. Marinelli is credited with helping mold Warren Sapp into the dominant force that he was and any similar help with Tommie Harris could turn the Bears defense around in a hurry.

Granted a lot of this still doesn’t look good. Lovie brings another one of his friends on to the staff while refusing to part ways with a defensive coordinator who appears in over his head. Though while Lovie and Jerry Angelo have publicly stated so far that Bob Babich’s job is safe I am sure this hiring has to have him feeling at least a little uneasy. Another slow start from the Bears high priced defense and the presence of Marinelli could ease the decision to show Babich the door.

At the end of the day though Rod Marinelli is being brought in to do what many NFL teams already know he can do well. That’s why teams like the Texans and Seahawks were also pursuing him. The Bears offer him the most comfortable position and the biggest opportunity to make an impact, as the emergence of a pass rush could solve so many problems. So hold off on the 0-16 jokes and give the guy a chance, we need all the help we can get.