Nov. 11--Marc Trestman's steadiness remained intact Monday among the embers still smoldering from the Bears' blowout loss to the Packers on Sunday night.
Trestman will not change his coaching staff and is not mulling whether to bench quarterback Jay Cutler, he said at his Monday news conference. Those decisions disappointed the mob of angry Bears fans on talk radio and social media who wanted heads to roll following the 55-14 embarrassment on national TV.
"Right now I stand by these guys and the job they're doing," Trestman said of his assistants. "I really believe in them. I see that every day in their work ethic and the football intellect that these guys have and the way they relate to the players on a daily basis, and I stand by that."
Asked whether that decision is permanent, Trestman said: "Everything is day to day, but I wouldn't use that as alluding to the fact that something could happen in the future."
Trestman's empathy for his staff was evident. After all, he was an assistant for 17 NFL seasons and understands the fear of knee-jerk reactions to gutting losses.
More than that, though, he said he believes continuity gives the Bears (3-6) the best chance to beat the Vikings at Soldier Field on Sunday. That includes Mel Tucker continuing to coordinate a defense that surrendered an NFL-record-tying six first-half touchdown passes to Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
"I watch him work every day," Trestman asserted. "I watch him communicate with these players. I watch him work on the field with these players. To me, he's doing everything he can under the circumstances to coach, to teach and to lead that side of the ball, and he's got a very good staff with him.
"They're great teachers, they're veteran coaches who have been in a lot of situations, as Mel has. He's been through these types of things, and I feel very confident that he's doing the things that he can do to help us go forward."
After the game Sunday night, cornerback Tim Jennings directed the inquest toward the men on the field when asked whether Trestman and Tucker still have the players' confidence.
"I hope so at the end of the day because we're going to come in and work," he said. "Much as how tough it is, and coaches feel like they're going to start with (themselves), but we take pride in what we do as a player. We take pride in executing the plays that they call. They're going to take responsibility because that's what coaches do. But as a player and as a man, we've got to take responsibility also."
Trestman said the coaches plan to examine personnel when game-planning for the Vikings before Wednesday's practice. Cutler's job is safe, however, despite his third consecutive game with multiple turnovers. He lost a fumble and threw two interceptions -- both of which were tipped -- in falling to 8-12 as a starter under Trestman.
"Certainly we know that Jay's not comfortable with the way he played yesterday," Trestman said. "No doubt about it. And I think it's on an individual basis. I think we all have to do better. And I say that -- I know it starts with the quarterback. It always does. But there are a lot of things that have to get done before something like that would be a consideration."
Benching the NFL's highest-paid player this season would qualify as a seismic event for an organization that hired Trestman to get the most out of Cutler a year before guaranteeing the quarterback $54 million through the 2016 season.
But the Bears offense is sputtering and hasn't lived up to expectations established for a unit that returned four Pro Bowlers from last season's consistent group. Cutler's 15 turnovers are tied for most in the league with Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles.
Trestman on Monday was asked several times about benching the ninth-year veteran.
"The biggest thing is that Jay has got to play better," he said. "He didn't play well enough yesterday, and we didn't play well enough, and I'm certain that he'd take accountability for that. But it's very clear he did not play well enough yesterday. We can't sugarcoat that."
Trestman acknowledged a disconnect between what he perceives to be Cutler's clean, promising practices and his repeated mistakes in games.
"That's what has been the most disturbing thing, is that those things are not showing up in practice," Trestman said. "They certainly didn't last week. I think anybody on this team who watched practice would tell you that. "I think it's focusing and just getting back into recognizing that this is where we've been deficient and continue to work our way out of this slump that we're in, because we're certainly in one."
