Putting coaches on this list is something I didn't want to do last year, and is something I didn't want to do this year. But with the coaching additions being so potentially impactful the last couple of years, I felt my hands were tied. Last year, Lovie Smith taking over as D.C. ended up being much ado about nothing, and even though Rod "the biggest off-season acquisition" Marinelli did help out the D-Line play, it was nowhere near as huge as we all hoped.
This year they have two new coaching faces on the team and a third with a new title, so I had three more coaches to seriously consider for my Top 10. With as much as Mike Martz can bring to the team, and considering the lack of imagination the offense has shown in years past, there was no way I could have left him off the list. And #7 just felt right, after all it's still on the players to execute the plays that are called.
The Martz effect will be felt throughout the entire offense. Even though the Bears have position coaches, they'll all be implementing the Martz system and everyone will be doing things the Martz way. Martz will obviously spend the majority of his time with the quarterbacks, but he's a very hands on coach that will have a word with any player on his O at any time. From the foot position of his receivers to the various protection schemes of his O-Line, Mike Martz will be micro managing every aspect of the offense. And that's a good thing.
He's very meticulous in his approach and he'll hold his players and the position coaches accountable. He knows that this may be his last shot in the NFL, because fair or not, his reputation around the league isn't the best. X's and O's wise there may be none better, but his ego maniacal approach to things has burned a few bridges. Even though, almost to a man, his former players do nothing except praise him as a coach.
Players want to be coached, they want to learn, you rarely make it to the NFL if you can't take criticism and some hard coaching. He'll work wonders with Jay Cutler, who did very well under another hard ass coach in Mike Shanahan. Cutler has a very real chance to set every single season passing record for the Bears in 2010 (his '09 season saw him set 2). Having four wide receivers with a realistic chance to have 60+ receptions, a couple running backs that have the kind of skill set Martz can really utilize, and even a tight end group with the kind of pass catching ability (and willing workers) that he isn't used to having, I can see Martz taking the Bears offense to a level of epic proportions.
The list so far:
#10 - Robbie Gould - Kicker
#9 - Matt Forte - Running back
#8 - Olin Kreutz - Center
#7 - Mike Martz - Offensive Coordinator