Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach. He led the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) to back-to-back

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

in 2017. He was also named CFL Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2017. He has also coached in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). In addition, Trestman has served as a head coach, offensive coordinator and positions coach for a number of different teams, with the most notable of these tenures being a two-season stint as the head coach of the NFL's

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for three seasons with the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

, and one season for the Minnesota State–Moorhead Dragons. Trestman's most recent coaching position was as the head coach for the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL, which came to a premature end when the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

was terminated due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Early life

Marc Marlyn Trestman was born on January 15, 1956, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In 1974, he graduated from Saint Louis Park High School in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. He played college football as

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its incept ...

team for three seasons, in which he served as a backup quarterback for Tony Dungy. He transferred as a senior to play quarterback at

Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...

. Trestman received a B.A. degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from Minnesota in 1979 and a J.D. degree from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1983. Trestman went to training camp with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

1979 and 1980 as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Coaching career

NCAA

He entered football coaching at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

as a volunteer coach. In 1983, he was named quarterbacks coach. That year, quarterback Bernie Kosar passed for 2,329 yards and Miami won the national championship. The next year, Kosar completed 262 passes for 3,642 yards, both school records. In 2005, Trestman returned to college football coaching as the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

offensive coordinator, guiding the team to a win in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. However, at the end of the 2006 season, he, along with the entire coaching staff, was fired.

NFL

Trestman moved to the

and coached

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s with the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and 1986. He served as quarterbacks coach first with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and then the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in 1988. In

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

he again coached Kosar and the team finished 10–6 and made the playoffs. His promotion to

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

was made before the team named Bud Carson as

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...

's successor as head coach. Kosar passed for 3,533 yards and 18 TDs that season, while

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Webster Slaughter had a franchise record 1,236 receiving yards. Trestman was dismissed after the Browns' third loss in the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...

game in four years, primarily due to his strained relationship with Carson. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, Trestman returned to Minnesota as quarterbacks coach for the Vikings. He spent two years there and then left coaching for three years, and worked in the

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often ...

market during that timespan. He returned to the NFL in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where he served in that capacity through

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. The first year he was in San Francisco, the team led the NFL with 457 points scored, 644 pass attempts and 4,779 passing yards. Trestman joined the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as quarterbacks coach in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. That year Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell passed for 3,484 yards, fourth most in team history. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he was with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. That year quarterback

Jake Plummer Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Pl ...

threw for 3,737 yards, and the Cardinals made the playoffs for the first time since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and won their first post season game in 51 years. He next went to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

as the quarterbacks coach. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

he was promoted to offensive coordinator and the Raiders led the NFL in total offense with 389.8 yards per game and passing yards with 279.7 per game. Under Trestman's guidance, Raiders QB Rich Gannon won the 2002 NFL MVP award as the Raiders reached Super Bowl XXXVII, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Trestman spent the 2004 season with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

before returning to the college ranks (see above). In 2007, Trestman spent time with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as a consultant for Sean Payton.

CFL

On December 18, 2007, Trestman was named head coach for the

of the Canadian Football League. The Alouettes lost 22–14 to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

in the 2008 Grey Cup championship game. At the conclusion of the season, he was nominated for the CFL's Annis Stukus Award as the league's top coach, with Calgary's John Hufnagel winning. In 2009, Trestman led the Alouettes to win the 2009 Grey Cup over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, winning with a field goal with no time left on the clock. The Alouettes finished the regular season that year with a franchise-best 15–3 record, which was also the league's best record since 1997. After the season, it was announced that Trestman was signed through the 2012 season as the head coach. Trestman then led the Alouettes to another Grey Cup win in 2010. After winning the 2010 Grey Cup, Trestman won the CFL's Coach of the year award. Trestman is the only coach in Alouettes history to win back-to-back Grey Cups. Under Trestman's guidance, Alouettes QB

Anthony Calvillo Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is an American professional Canadian football, football coach and former quarterback who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football Lea ...

won back-to-back MVP awards in 2008 and 2009.

Return to the NFL

In 2012, Trestman was interviewed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

for their vacant position of head coach. The Colts eventually hired Chuck Pagano. In early 2013, Trestman was interviewed by the

and the

for their respective vacant head coaching positions. On January 16, 2013, he was named head coach of the Bears. In Trestman's first game with the Bears, they won 24–21 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

; he became the fourth Bears head coach to win his debut game, joining

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

(1920), Neill Armstrong (1978) and

Dick Jauron Richard Manual Jauron (; October 7, 1950February 8, 2025) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety, five with the Detroit Lions and three with t ...

(1999). After winning in week two against the

, Trestman also joined Halas and Armstrong as the only coaches in Bears history to win his first two games as Bears head coach. The week fifteen win against the

improved the Bears to 8–6; at the time, the 8 wins were the most by a first-year head coach in franchise history since Paddy Driscoll in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

(9 wins) and the most by a Bears first-year head coach in the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

era. Unfortunately, Trestman did not lead the Bears to the playoffs as a late-season loss skid ended any playoff hopes. Trestman's first season as Bears head coach ended with an 8–8 record, second in the

NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and toug ...

. Trestman's offensive prowess aided the Bears, who concluded 2013 with the second-best scoring offense with 445 points, only trailing the record-setting

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

offense, and a 14-place increase from 2012. The Bears also had the fifth-best offensive yardage gained with 4281 yards. The offense also broke team records in total yards (6,109), passing yards (4,450), passing touchdowns (32) and first downs (344). The Bears struggled during Trestman's second season as head coach, earning a 5–11 record at season's end. The season included blowout losses to New England and Green Bay midseason, as well as a five-game losing streak to end the season. Despite this, Trestman spoke with confidence that he would be back as the Bears' head coach next season following a 13–9 loss to the

. Trestman and general manager

Phil Emery Philip Allen Emery (born 25 June 1964) is a former Australian cricketer. A wicket-keeper and valuable left-handed batsman, he represented Australia national cricket team, Australia internationally and New South Wales cricket team, New South Wa ...

were fired at the end of the season. Trestman issued a final statement before leaving: "I want to thank

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, George and the McCaskey family, Phil Emery and Ted Phillips for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears. I also want to thank all the coaches and players who gave us everything we asked over the past two years. I have tremendous respect for this organization. Chicago is a special city with great fans. I appreciate the warm support my family and I received." Trestman was appointed as the offensive coordinator for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on January 20, 2015. He was fired on October 10, 2016, a day after a 16–10 loss to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and replaced by Marty Mornhinweg.

Return to the CFL

Trestman was named the head coach of the

on February 28, 2017. Despite being hired late in the off-season, Trestman's first season in Toronto went above expectations, given the circumstances. Trestman inherited a roster that finished last in the league the previous season, and guided the team to a 9–9 record, which was good enough for first place in the East and a first-round bye in the playoffs. On Sunday, November 26, 2017, Trestman won his third Grey Cup when the Argonauts defeated the Stampeders 27–24. During that season he won the Annis Stukus Trophy and was named CFL coach of the year. The 2018 season for the Argonauts under Trestman was filled with poor play and injuries (most notably to quarterback

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...

) resulting in the team missing the post-season following the Grey Cup Championship the year before. Trestman was fired at the conclusion of the 2018 Toronto Argonauts season, the day following the team's 24–9 loss to the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

(which was played on November 2, 2018) as a direct consequence of the team's poor performance during the 2018 campaign, winning only 4 games the year after winning a championship. The 2018 CFL season marked the first time during Trestman's CFL coaching career that a team he represented did not reach the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Vipers

On March 2, 2019, Trestman was hired to be the head coach and general manager of the then-unnamed Tampa Bay XFL team soon to be named the Tampa Bay Vipers.

Return to the NFL

On February 14, 2024, Trestman was hired by Jim Harbaugh to join the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

as a senior offensive assistant.

Head coaching record

CFL

NFL

XFL

Personal life

Trestman has two daughters. In 2010, he released his first book as an author titled ''PERSEVERANCE: Life Lessons on Leadership and Teamwork''. Currently, he is serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami Florida School of Law where he is teaching a course on leadership called "A Playbook for Leadership and the Law." He also co-hosted ''The Leadership Gameplan Podcast'' on behalf of the University of Miami School of Law with Greg Levy. Trestman is a "Football Player Development" instructor for the online sports-career training school Sports Management Worldwide. He is also a frequent contributor to The 33rd Team, a "football Think Tank" with contributors including

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

, Bill Cowher,

Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American college American football, football coach and former running back who is the head football coach at Bowling Green Falcons football, Bowling Green State University. He previously ...

Ronde Barber Jamael Orondé Barber (born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who spent his entire 16-year career as a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Barber grew ...

, and Bill Polian, among others.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trestman, Marc 1956 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona Cardinals coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches Chicago Bears head coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Detroit Lions coaches Jewish American players of American football Miami Dolphins coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota State–Moorhead Dragons football players Minnesota Vikings coaches Montreal Alouettes coaches NFL offensive coordinators NC State Wolfpack football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Players of American football from Minneapolis Sportspeople from St. Louis Park, Minnesota San Francisco 49ers coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Tampa Bay Vipers coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches University of Miami School of Law alumni Minnesota Vikings players American football defensive backs Sports coaches from Minneapolis Los Angeles Chargers coaches Coaches of American football from Minnesota