It’s no secret that the 2014 Chicago Bears were a dysfunctional bunch. Whether it was on the field when they were giving up more than 50 points in back-to-back games en-route to a last-place finish in the NFC North, or off the field with their numerous locker-room fights, it was clear by the end of the season that ownership would have to clean house. And clean house, they did.
Out was general manager Phil Emery, who was replaced by Ryan Pace, and also out was head coach Marc Trestman, who was replaced by John Fox. Little did we know at the time, however, was just how deep the dysfunction really was.
Last week, defensive lineman Jeremiah Ratliff was cut by the new regime, and reports later surfaced that he got into a heated exchange with Pace afterwards to the point that the local police had to be called in order to escort him from the building. On Wednesday, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report indicated this may not have been the first ugly incident involving Ratliff and the Bears, with the first coming at the end of last season when Trestman was still the coach.
In the last week of the season, on a Friday, according to a player who witnessed the entire incident, Ratliff showed up to practice and was behaving belligerently toward players and coaches. Ratliff went ballistic, this player said, and was asked to leave practice.
He departed but later returned. Practice was stopped and most players went off to the side while a small group of players and coaches tried to calm Ratliff down and get him to leave.
It didn’t work initially. Ratliff destroyed the game clock on the practice field, smashing it and kicking it. Later, he shoved an assistant coach to the ground. While all of this went on, Trestman never intervened. He just stood off to the side and watched.
And this is the most incredible part. The uber-enabling part. Not only was Ratliff never punished by Trestman…he was named one of the captains the next day. The entire locker room was incredulous.
Trestman was fired shortly after the season ended, but it’s this incident that at least one player believes was the beginning of the end for his short, two-season tenure as head coach. Today, Trestman is the offensive coordinator for a Ravens team that has lost six of its first seven games.
[via Bleacher Report, Deadspin]
