Thread: Chicago Bears Hire Marc Trestman as the new HC

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

You should hear what Jerry Rice said about him. Not exactly a good report.


Jacksonville.com: Rice happy Trestman, style gone 8/16/97



By The Times-Union
,


Sunday, August 17, 1997Story last updated at 11:05 p.m. on Saturday, August 16, 1997
Rice happy Trestman, style gone
By John Oehser
Times-Union sports writer
The words came at a news conference in January announcing a new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. A reporter asked owner Eddie DeBartolo about Marc Trestman.
''He's gone,'' DeBartolo replied.
And somewhere, Jerry Rice smiled. Real, real big.
Because if there was anything Rice - the NFL's best wide receiver ever - wanted to hear this past off-season, it was that Trestman - Rice's least favorite offensive coordinator ever - was to be out of a job.
And now, as Rice enters a 13th NFL season, he says he feels more optimistic now than in a long while, particularly than the end of last year.
The absence of Trestman is the reason.
Not that Rice, who holds every major receiving record in NFL history, hated Trestman. It's just he hated the things Trestman made him do:
Run 2-yard crossing routes.
Take a physical beating.
And eventually, even consider retirement.
''That was a nightmare for me,'' said Rice, who caught 108 passes last season, but for ''only'' eight touchdowns and 1,254 yards, an 11.6-yards-per-reception average, 4 yards below his career average.
Those feelings went away withTrestman, and the hiring of new head coach Steve Mariucci, who replaced George Seifert.
''I caught a lot of balls, but it was not a fun year for me,'' said Rice, the NFL's all-time leader in touchdowns, yards receiving and career receptions, who is expected to play extensively in the first half tomorrow night when the Jaguars play the 49ers at 3Com Park in San Francisco in a preseason game. ''I had some doubts in my mind. I was saying, 'Jerry, you've been here for a long time. Maybe it's time to leave, move on.' ''
The main problem was how Trestman used Rice, as a possession receiver, an inexplicable tactic for one of the NFL's top deep threats. Trestman's explanation was the 49ers' running game was suspect, and he needed Rice for first downs in what had become a possession offense.
The strategy worked enough to get the 49ers to the playoffs, but the result was an unhappy Rice, who was so weary by season's end that in one critical goal-line situation against Carolina, he had to leave the field. Quarterback Steve Young threw into triple coverage to rookie Terrell Owens, and the pass was intercepted, killing any chance of a comeback.
In six of the last nine games, Rice averaged under 10 yards a catch. His three 100-yard games and eight touchdowns both were the lowest totals since his rookie year, and, for the first time in his career, he didn't have a catch as long as 40 yards.
''I'm used to stretching downfield, making the big plays,'' Rice said. ''After you get the defense off you, you've got the underneath routes, and that's something we didn't do. I took a lot of blows, and I took a beating.
''I was very depressed, because we didn't really attack people. We didn't run that 49er offense. Not saying anything against Marc Trestman, but it was not enjoyable.''
Marriuci said this won't be a problem. In Mariucci's offense, instead of lining up strictly as a flanker, Rice will be moved around to different spots, especially in three- and four-wideout sets, so defenses can't key on him so easily. The 49ers also will throw to him downfield more often.
''Those two things ought to make Jerry Rice's production greater,'' Mariucci said. ''When he catches the ball, most of them should be for a first down. Probably 90 percent of them will be.''
Last year, 66.7 percent of his catches earned first downs. Many receivers in the league had much higher ratios, such as Baltimore's Derrick Alexander (80.6) and Michael Jackson (76.3), Minnesota's Jake Reed (77.8), Philadelphia's Irving Fryar (75.0) and St. Louis' Isaac Bruce (71.4).
''That's just being smart with him,'' Mariucci said. ''When you catch the ball [short], there's four or five linebackers who can make that play. But if you catch the ball [farther downfield], there's fewer people who can make that play. If he breaks one tackle, maybe he scores. We have to be conscious of where he's catching the ball.''

Jerry Rice Marc Trestmon - Yahoo! Search Results

Rice voluntarily joined Trestman in Oakland 5 years later and went to another Pro Bowl.

I take it Rod is staying?