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Bears Hire Rod Marinelli as Assistant Head and Defensive Line Coach

Jan 10, 2009 – 5:07 PM
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Matt Snyder

Matt Snyder %BloggerTitle%

After being shown the door -- in the least surprising dismissal since Kelvin Sampson -- following a historic 0-16 season in Detroit, it didn't take long for Rod Marinelli to become gainfully employed again. Hey, what are friends for? Lovie Smith, his old buddy from their Tampa Bay days (seen here with their head coach, Tony Dungy), has brought Marinelli onto his staff.

According to an NFL Network report, the Bears have hired Marinelli as their assistant head coach and defensive line coach.

Look, there are bound to be tons of complaints in Chicago about this move, especially with the much-maligned Bob Babich still ultimately in charge of the defense. The fact of the matter is that some coaches are not good head coaches, and they are better served as assistants. Cam Cameron is a perfect example. Rod Marinelli was a very highly respected defensive line coach for years in Tampa Bay. Bears fans need to get past the failure we just witnessed in Detroit and realize this is a good hire.

On the other hand, there are a lot more problems with this team. Hiring a defensive line coach doesn't solve many of them -- especially since the defensive coordinator is still Babich.
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