It’s been an unusual decade for Mark Trestman, who has gone from league to league, and job to job. Now the former Bears’ coach has a new stop on his football tour.
On Tuesday, Trestman was named as the new head coach and general manager of the XFL’s new Tampa Bay franchise.
The team, which will begin play in the winter of 2020, introduced Trestman today at a news conference at Raymond James Stadium, with a few highlights already circulating on Twitter.
Trestman will lead one of eight teams for the reboot of the league, created by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. It’s the second attempt at the league, which folded after just one year of play back in the winter and the spring of 2001.
After winning two Grey Cups in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes from 2008-2012, Trestman was hired by the Bears to replace Lovie Smith in 2013. The team went 8-8 in his first season then 5-11 in his second. A poor record and locker room strife led to Trestman’s dismissal the day after the 2014 season. Trestman was then hired as the Ravens offensive coordinator for the 2015 season, but was fired midway through the next campaign, which led to his return to the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts as head coach in 2017.
In his first season with the team, Trestman led the group to a Grey Cup championship, but like with the Bears, his second season was poor. The team fired him after just four wins in 2018, which now leads to the coach’s new opportunity starting in 2020.