Chicago Herald-American

The Bears did it backwards and still got it right.

Not only did they hire offensive coordinator Mike Martz after  hiring offensive line coach Mike Tice, but they got the best available coach at both positions. In fact, I would argue that Tice is the more important hire. If Martz doesn't have an offensive line to work with, he has no better chance of succeeding than Ron Turner did. 

And I like Tice's chances of upgrading the Bears' offensive line. When he coached the Vikings' offensive line from 1997-2001, Todd Steussie, Jeff Christy, Korey Stringer and Matt Birk became Pro Bowl players for the first time under Tice. When Tice became the Vikings' offensive line coach in 1997, the Vikings improved from 18th in yards per carry the previous year to third. And they were fourth, fifth, first and tied for seventh in the next four seasons. The Bears don't have the offensive talent Tice had with the Vikings, but unless it was just coincidence that they all improved when he took over, the guy makes an impact. 

I don't doubt for a minute he played a role in that. Mike Tice was a bad fit as a head coach in the NFL, but he's an ideal personality for an offensive line coach. For whatever reason, many of the good ones in the NFL have some kind of quirky personality. Tice is a big-and-bold, brash New Yorker who isn't afraid to speak his mind. And by most accounts, he's fun to play for -- yet another trait of his that works a lot better with an offensive line than a 53-man football team. 

If I were the Bears I wouldn't underestimate what he can do for them. It wouldn't surprise me if he rejuvenated former Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz. In fact, crazy as it sounds, I'd keep Orlando Pace around for training camp just to see what Tice can do with him. Chris Williams showed tangible signs of progress for the first time with the Bears playing left tackle in the final month of the 2009 season. Frank Omiyale has a year of experience at guard -- though most of it wasn't good, at least he got it out of his system. Roberto Garza is one of those guys who blends in -- he won't make a bad line better, but he won't make a good line worse. 

It sounds like a lot of wishful thinking, and maybe it is. But I can't totally discount it. They all play a position where a coach can make a big difference.

A chart is worth 1,000 words

As for the signing of Martz, what's there not to like? He has a chance to be a huge hit, which would be great for the Bears. Or it could turn into a complete disaster, which would put the Bears at 6-10 or worse and usher in the Bill Cowher era. For once, we have nothing to lose.

And kudos to the Tribune for it's excellent graphic on the front page of Tuesday's paper illustrating the impact Martz has had in his career. It shows you exactly what you should expect from Martz with the Bears: Martz makes bad teams better, but he doesn't make them good. Quarterbacks are better with him than without him, but only Kurt Warner became a superstar. 

The Martz era will be a litmus test for Jay Cutler. He flopped under the placid Ron Turner. If he doesn't respond to the headstrong Martz, there might not be any hope the guy. So far, Cutler has done nothing to refute the notion that he's a supremely talented quarterback who doesn't have the intangibles to win. Not quite Jeff George, but close to him than Tom Brady. 

I don't know if the Bears got the right guy. But I'm convinced they don't know who the right guy is, so they might as well get someone with the best track record. Which hire has Lovie Smith made in his six years as the Bears head coach that's convinced you he has a keen sense of what his team needs in terms of a coordinator or position coach? The only former Lovie assistant with a shot at a head coaching job is the one he couldn't get rid of fast enough: Ron Rivera. 

There is an incongruity to the Martz hire that could be a harbinger of a bad fit: Martz runs an offense that does not call for the quarterback to roll out and move the pocket, yet it's pretty clear that that is Cutler's strong suit; and Martz's offenses have little or no need for a tight end in the passing game, yet the Bears' tight ends, particularly Greg Olsen and to a lesser extent Desmond Clark, are receivers first and blockers second. The Tribune called Clark "more of a blocking tight end," but they must have been watching a different game than I've been watching the past few years. 

Martz claimed he has ignored the tight end in the passing game because he always has "these big, physical tight ends who we tried to utilize int he running game and as pass blockers than as wide receivers." Or maybe he just didn't realize that Vernon Davis could do more than block. Davis, who had 31 catches for 358 yards (11.5 yards per catch) and two touchdowns for the 49ers in 2008 in Martz's offense, had 78 receptions for 965 yards (12.4 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns in 2009. 

My guess is you'll see Olsen spending A LOT of time with Mike Tice in offseason workouts and training camp.