Mike Tice to Replace Mike Martz as Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator
Published by David Daniels on January 6, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Jay Cutler will attest to the fact that the Chicago Bears greatest weakness is their offensive line. Naturally, Chicago will promote the man coaching their greatest weakness.
Jay Glazer tweeted this Bears news on Friday:
That front office move comes after the departure of Mike Martz. Tice is a great coach, but we’ll see how this affects the Bears’ o-line. Known as one of the top line specialists in the league, he was the only reason the Bears’ had a decent line at all.
Zach Zaidman tweeted this good news for Chicago fans after the hiring…
So that ends any threat that their line could take a step back in 2012.
But taking over the offensive coordinator job is a huge role change. Tice hasn’t exactly had success with that type of responsibility. After coaching tight ends and the offensive line for the Minnesota Vikings from 1996-2001, he took over as a Head Coach and that didn’t last too long.
His tenure with the Vikings ended with a sub-.500 record. During those few years, Minnesota only made the playoffs once and it was with an 8-8 record.
After the Vikings chose not to extend his contract, Tice signed on with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an assistant head coach. During Tice’s three years there, they went .500.
As an offensive line guy, I’m sure the Bears will do a little more running then they did under Martz’s watch. And that may just be enough to persuade Matt Forte to re-sign in Chi-Town.
2011 can be a huge season for the Bears if Tice is able to turn the offense around. If they can pick up a true No. 1 wide receiver like Michael Floyd and another starting caliber offensive lineman in the draft, throw in a healthy Jay Cutler and Forte, and Chicago will blow up. And with an aging Brian Urlacher, this team is definitely in win-now mode.
David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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