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Here’s my final #GMCPlaybook question for @SBNation this year: Did your team have a #ProfessionalGrade season? http://t.co/iQ1hxcHGwA
— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) December 24, 2014
All season long, Marshall Faulk has been focusing on professional grade-- players, coaches, schemes-- and all season long, it's been difficult to answer his questions. The Chicago Bears at one point were one of the shining stars in the NFL, but at this point have become Hard Knocks material.
We know that 2014 was a hot mess, but what would it take to get 2015 on track? How could the Chicago Bears become professional grade for next season?
A culture change is, again, needed badly before anything else is going to improve.
When Olin Kreutz, Brian Urlacher, and Lovie Smith left, a lot in that locker room changed. There was a change in leadership, and we thought that Marc Trestman, with his leadership book and analytical approach, would be just what the doctor ordered. But it took less than two seasons for us to see that it wasn't working.
The Bears went from having one of the most well-oiled locker rooms in the league to one of the most dysfunctional. And Trestman was 100% directly responsible for that.
So to be professional grade in 2015, the Bears will need to figure out a way, again, to get back to where they used to be. They need a leader on the sidelines, and a leader or two in the locker room. A culture of accountability.
Goodbye, 2014. You may go now, and take everyone with you.
Join the #GMCPlaybook discussion at sbnation.com/sponsored-gmc-playbook and on Twitter by following @thisisgmc & @marshallfaulk.