Bears' D-line coach Marinelli takes stock

BOURBONNAIS - New defensive line coach Rod Marinelli doesn't just preach a "takeaway" philosophy, he lives it.

While signing autographs for raucous fans after the Bears' practice on Friday afternoon - one adult male kept repeating "Thank God you're here, Rod" - Marinelli absent-mindedly tucked one autographed football under his left arm and kept trudging down the line.

Only after multiple pleas did the former Detroit Lions head coach realize his mistake and return the inadvertent turnover.

What happened? Well, Marinelli apparently was preoccupied with getting to his post-practice meeting. When he was the Lions' boss, particularly during their 0-16 run last fall, he didn't need to budget time for autographs or adoration.

"This is unbelievable," Marinelli said. "Tremendous fan support."

Aside from the 7,000 fans that ringed the grass fields at Olivet Nazarene, Marinelli's first fall practice was blissfully business as usual.

The 60-year-old Marinelli, who started coaching defensive linemen way back in 1976 at Utah State, prefers to emphasize the positive.

"Very much," he said. "Very much. People respond to that."

After one play during 11-on-11 work when defensive tackle Tommie Harris nearly reached quarterback Jay Cutler before a screen pass to Matt Forte developed, Marinelli went out of his way to holler at Harris, "That's a helluva rush. That's a helluva rush!"

While everyone heard Marinelli's praise, he lowered his voice so only Harris could understand what he didn't do perfectly on the play.

"Just focused on tempo and fundamentals," said Marinelli, not speaking specifically about Harris' play. "If you skip that, if you assume that you have that, then you're going to have problems all year. There's certain traits you have to have, certain standards you have to have."

With second-year man Marcus Harrison on the physically unable to perform list while he loses some weight, Marinelli has Dusty Dvoracek and Anthony Adams taking turns with the first string at nose tackle.

"That's what I'm going to try to do with all these guys," Marinelli said. "I've got Mark Anderson rotating with the first group (at end).

"Especially early, you want to let guys have opportunities. That's the right way to do it. For me, that's the right way to do business."