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Following the 51-23 loss to the Patriots and the 55-14 loss to the Packers, it became only a matter of time until Marc Trestman's job was gone. Indeed, the day after the regular season ended with the Bears posting their worst record since 2004 (5-11), Trestman was fired on December 29. General manager Phil Emery also lost his job earlier the same day.
The firings continued with defensive coordinator Mel Tucker on January 20, 2015. Tucker's defense had not been stellar, ranking third-worst in the NFL in 2014 in terms of total yardage and second-worst in terms of points (part of this is due to having given up 106 points in the two games mentioned earlier).
In place of Trestman, the Bears brought in former Carolina and Denver coach John Fox, with Vic Fangio coming in as the team's new defensive coordinator. Ryan Pace was also hired as the Bears' new general manager, but the long-term deal with Jay Cutler is one that cannot be undone unless the Bears eat the contract.
The Bears' bizarre offseason, however, did not just extend to their coaching moves. The team brought in Ray McDonald from the San Francisco 49ers, on May 24, signing him to a one-year contract. A day after the signing, however, the Bears released McDonald following an arrest on charges of domestic abuse and child endangerment, prompting a furious backlash from Bears fans for not noticing his previous police record (he had been arrested for sexual assault while with San Francisco in December 2014).
The team also lost several of its defensive stalwarts, losing safety Chris Conte in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, defensive lineman Stephen Paea to the Washington Redskins, and Charles Tillman to the Carolina Panthers. To offset these losses, the Bears brought in Antrel Rolle from the New York Giants, and Eddie Royal came in from the San Diego Chargers. Royal was signed through free agency to replace the traded Brandon Marshall, who was traded to the New York Jets along with a seventh-round draft pick for a fifth-round pick.
All told, the Bears' offseason provided lots of chatter for the other teams in the NFC North, especially given the multitude of moves that were made shortly after the end of the season.