Marinelli will be Bears' assistant head coach, defensive line coach

The Bears took the first step toward improving one of the league's most disappointing defenses when they signed former Lions head coach Rod Marinelli Saturday to be their assistant head coach and defensive line coach.

Marinelli, 59, who is a close friend of Bears head coach Lovie Smith, spent 10 years as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the first six years in Tampa, he was the Bucs' defensive line coach (1996-2001), and in the final four seasons he was assistant head coach/defensive line (2002-05). Smith was the Bucs' linebackers coach from 1996-2000.

Marinelli and Smith roomed together for part of their tenure under head coach Tony Dungy, and Marinelli also worked with Bears general manager Jerry Angelo in Tampa. In his end-of-the-season press conference, Angelo said he would welcome the opportunity to add Marinelli to the Bears' staff.

"I think the world of Rod Marinelli," Angelo said. "I would love to have Rod Marinelli on our staff, and I think Lovie would say the same thing. He's a great football coach. Anytime you get a chance to get a great coach or great player, you're not going to sit here and say that you wouldn't consider him or you wouldn't work a way to do that."

Marinelli spent the previous three seasons as the Lions' head coach, compiling a 10-38 record, including the NFL's first-ever 0-16 campaign in 2008. Nevertheless, he had several opportunities to become a defensive coordinator but chose the Bears' job over the Houston Texans and the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he interviewed earlier in the week.

It remains to be seen how much influence Marinelli will have in play-calling, which has been handled the past two seasons by defensive coordinator Bob Babich, with disappointing results, including a No. 21 finish in yards allowed in 2008. The Bears' defense was 28th in 2007 in Babich's first year after he replaced the fired Ron Rivera. In Rivera's final two seasons, the Bears' defense was ranked No. 5 in yards and No. 3 in points allowed in 2006 and No. 2 in yards and No. 1 in points in 2005.

Marinelli has never called plays at the NFL level, but he had a significant say in the Lions' defense, which finished last in the NFL the past two seasons.

But in Marinelli's tenure with the Bucs, their defensive line had 3281/2 sacks, tops in the NFL during that time among defensive fronts.

There has been speculation that Marinelli's son-in-law, Joe Barry, who was his defensive coordinator in Detroit, will join him on the Bears' staff, which still has openings for a linebackers coach and a defensive backs coach. Brick Haley, the Bears' defensive line coach the past two seasons, recently accepted the same position at LSU after it became obvious he wouldn't be back with the Bears.

Linebackers coach Lloyd Lee and defensive backs coach Steven Wilks were fired by the Bears last week.