New Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman is wasting no time in beginning to fill out his staff.
After tabbing Trestman to become the 14th head coach in franchise history on Wednesday, the Bears announced later in the day that New Orleans Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has been hired as the team's offensive coordinator.
Chicago also named veteran special teams coach Joe DeCamillis as an assistant head coach/special teams coordinator.
Kromer had been with the Saints since 2008 and served as New Orleans' acting head coach for the first six games of this past season while both Sean Payton and assistant Joe Vitt were both serving suspensions for their involvement in the Saints' bounty scandal. New Orleans went 2-4 in the games Kromer was in charge.
A staff member on New Orleans' Super Bowl XLIV championship squad, Kromer previously worked with Trestman when both were with the Oakland Raiders from 2001-03. Trestman was the offensive coordinator during that period, in which Oakland reached Super Bowl XXXVII during the 2002 season, with Kromer then in charge of the offensive line.
DeCamillis gives the Bears 25 years of NFL experience as a special teams coach and held that role with the Dallas Cowboys the past four seasons.
Trestman will be returning to the NFL after a successful 5-year head coaching stint with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. The 57-year-old went 64-34 during his tenure and guided the Alouettes to consecutive Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010.
Trestman will replace Lovie Smith, who was fired by Chicago after missing the playoffs for the second straight year despite a 10-6 record.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.