Bears cut ties with Trestman, Emery

Lake Forest, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bears fired head coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery Monday on the heels of a 5-11 season.

Emery spent three years at the helm and brought in Trestman in January 2013 after inheriting coach Lovie Smith, who was fired despite a 10-6 season in 2012.

"Phil and Marc are good football men and good men," Bears chairman George McCaskey said in a press conference. "They have both served the Bears honorably. Phil's work ethic is second to none. And the values that Marc has have resonated with the Bears since 1920."

The Bears floundered the past two years, posting an 8-8 mark in 2013 before this year's disappointing finish. Chicago hadn't finished below .500 since a 7-9 mark in 2009 and suffered through its worst season since a 5-11 record in 2004.

Trestman landed in Chicago after five years as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL. He won a pair of Grey Cup titles in Canada and had been an NFL assistant with the Vikings, Buccaneers, Browns, 49ers, Lions, Cardinals, Raiders and Dolphins.

Considered a successful quarterbacks coach, Trestman's undoing, in part, was the play of Jay Cutler. The veteran quarterback struggled in 2014 and was even benched for Week 16 against Detroit before playing in Sunday's season-ending 13-9 loss to the Vikings after Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion against the Lions.

Emery joined the Bears in January 2012 after three seasons as the director of college scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was his second stint with Chicago, serving as an area scout for the team from 1998-2004.

"These are difficult decisions," McCaskey said. "In the end, we didn't win enough games. We feel that it is time to move forward. We will act quickly to get the people we want and we will wait if we have to in order to get the people we want."