According to a report by the Chicago Sun Times, Mike Martz is a candidate to become the Bears’ next offensive coordinator.

”Martz would love to work with Jay Cutler,” said the source, who cited the close relationship between Smith and Martz in sharing the information.

Smith is expected to stay with the Bears in 2010 because of more than $10 million in walking-away money.
But offensive coordinator Ron Turner and at least part of his staff could be another story. The Bears (4-6) purged their defensive staff last offseason, and it might be the offense’s turn in January as Smith makes a final effort to turn around a franchise headed toward its third straight season of missing the playoffs. Since Turner was hired in 2005 after the firing of

Terry Shea, the offensive staff has been untouched. In that same span, Smith has changed seven defensive position coaches and moved the title of defensive coordinator from Ron Rivera to Bob Babich to himself.

This makes sense considering that the Bears have no interest in running the ball. Martz has always been able to get the most out of his quarterbacks (Kurt Warner, Marc Bulger, Jon Kitna, etc.) and could work well with Cutler. Of course, that could be a recipe for disaster given Martz and Cutler’s egos.

Still, Martz pass-happy system would be a great fit for Cutler’s big arm. But even if the Bears do land Martz, they still need to figure out a way to rebuild the offensive line or else Cutler will continue to struggle no matter what system he’s in.

This is an intriguing rumor.


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