TAMPA, Fla. _ Marc Trestman will be the head coach of the Tampa Bay XFL team, the Tampa Bay Times has learned.
When reached, Trestman politely directed inquiries to the league. The XFL declined comment.
A news conference, in which the team's general manager also will be announced, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Trestman, 63, was most recently head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. From 2008 to 2012, he also served as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, whom he led to consecutive Grey Cup championships.
In between his CFL stints, he was the head coach of the NFL's Chicago Bears (2013 and 2014) and the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens (2015 and 2016). His 2013 Bears team scored 27.8 points per game, second in team history to only the 1985 Bears (28.5 points per game).
Trestman has ties to Tampa Bay and Florida. He played quarterback at the University of Minnesota, where he was backup to future Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy. His first full-time coaching job came in 1983 when he was the quarterbacks coach for Bernie Kosar and the Miami Hurricanes team that won the national championship. In 1987, Trestman served in the same role for the Bucs.
The XFL, which is backed by World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon, is set to kick off the weekend of Feb. 8, one week after Super Bowl LIV. The Tampa Bay team, which does not yet have a name, will play its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It will play a 10-game regular season, five at home and five on the road.
The Tampa Bay team will be the fourth of the league's eight franchises to name a head coach. Dallas recently picked Bob Stoops, Washington, D.C. picked Pep Hamilton and Seattle picked Jim Zorn.
