Phil Emery Defends Coaching Staff, Marshall Against Prodding Fan Base
(CBS) Bears general manager Phil Emery held a live chat on the team's official website this afternoon, and to the credit of him and the organization, tough questions were allowed to be posed after the Bears dropped to 3-4 on Sunday and as coach Marc Trestman tries to get through to his team. And Emery addressed them, if not head on at least by shedding some helpful insight.
Arguably the most notable question was an individual asking Emery, "When can you admit that the (Marc) Trestman experiment (is) over?" The questioner also advocated for defensive coordinator Mel Tucker to be fired.
"Obviously no one inside or outside of our organization is happy with our current record," Emery said, via ChicagoBears.com. "We are a 3-4 football team and as it has been said you are what your record states. We're below the line as a football team right now. But I have complete trust and confidence in everybody in our organization moving forward. Our goal right now is to prove we can bounce back once again, win a football game, get to .500 and move forward on our goals.
"Our team and our coaches have repetitively shown us that they have the physical and mental toughness to bounce back from adversity to win football games. They did this in a very tough environment winning in San Francisco and then going coast-to-coast and winning in New York, and later beating the Falcons in their home after dropping two straight."
As for the latest controversy, Emery defended Brandon Marshall following reports that Marshall got into a heated argument with teammates following Sunday's loss to Miami.
"He's shown consistent leadership helping others and is a very important member of our team," Emery said of Marshall, according to ChicagoBears.com. "The fact that he expressed himself verbally in a loud way after a tough loss does not disrupt us in our goals or our togetherness in achieving those goals."
As for one of the bigger on-field questions, Emery supported struggling linebacker Shea McClellin getting the starting nod this past Sunday but didn't seem to give him the strongest vote of confidence. When asked if McClellin was a "starting-caliber" NFL linebacker, Emery responded by writing, "Shea showed progress in that direction against the 49ers."
"He was a key contributor to our defense in our effort to beat the 49ers," Emery wrote. "Unfortunately, he was injured and he's just now getting back health-wise to where he was before the San Francisco game. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress that he makes as the season unfolds."