The 2013 season was the Chicago Bears' 94th in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Marc Trestman after Lovie Smith was fired on December 31, 2012. The Chicago Bears played at Soldier Field for the 11th season since its reconstruction in 2001. For the sixth time in seven years since the Super Bowl XLI loss in the 2006 NFL Season, they failed to qualify for the playoffs with an 8–8 record.

For the first time since 1999, linebacker Brian Urlacher was not on the opening day roster. The Bears won their first three games in the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers, before losing in weeks four and five to the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints. After defeating the New York Giants, the Bears faced a challenge when quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a groin injury in a loss to the Washington Redskins. The Bears entered the bye week at 4–3. With Cutler out, Josh McCown stepped in against the Green Bay Packers in week nine and led the Bears to victory. Cutler returned for the next game against the Detroit Lions, although he was unable to play due to an ankle injury leading McCown to fill in for the next four games. During the four-game span under McCown, the Bears went 2–2 while he excelled, throwing thirteen touchdowns and one interception. Jay Cutler returned to full health and the starting lineup in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns despite McCown's play.

The Lions lost the day after the Bears defeated the Browns, allowing the Bears the opportunity to clinch the NFC North in Week 16, needing a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles and both the Packers and Lions to lose. Both division rivals lost, but the Bears also lost 54–11 against the Eagles. Chicago still had an opportunity to win the division in Week 17, but they were eliminated from playoff contention with a 33–28 loss to the Packers.

Offseason

Organizational changes

On December 31, 2012, nine-year head coach Lovie Smith was fired. After Smith's firing, the Bears requested interviews with thirteen coaches, twelve from the NFL plus Montreal Alouettes, of the Canadian Football League, head coach Marc Trestman. The hunt later narrowed down to Trestman, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Ultimately, Trestman was hired on January 15, 2013.

Trestman then hired New Orleans Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as offensive coordinator. The Dallas Cowboys later reported that Joe DeCamillis, who had been among the Bears' 13 head coaching candidates, would join the Bears as the team's assistant head coach/special teams coordinator. Trestman also hired Andy Bischoff and Michael Sinclair as tight ends and defensive line coaches, respectively. Both coaches worked with Trestman in Montreal. Alouettes offensive coordinator Pat Meyer also joined the Bears as offensive line coach, along with Purdue defensive coordinator and colleague of Trestman, Tim Tibesar, as linebackers coach. Former Alouettes coaches Brendan Nugent and Carson Walch were hired as offensive quality control assistants.

On January 15, special teams coordinator Dave Toub announced that he was leaving the Bears for the Kansas City Chiefs. Two days later, it was announced defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli would not return to the team either. Eight assistants were also dismissed: quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, running backs coach Tim Spencer, wide receivers coach Darryl Drake, tight ends coach Mike DeBord, offensive line coach Tim Holt, linebackers coach Bob Babich, defensive backs coach Gill Byrd, and offensive coordinator Mike Tice. To replace Bates and Spencer, Chicago hired Matt Cavanaugh and Skip Peete as quarterbacks and running backs coach, respectively. To take Marinelli's place, the Bears hired Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. On February 21, Trestman's staff was completed after the Bears hired Alabama Crimson Tide coach Mike Groh as wide receivers coach.

On January 19, Bears director of physical development Rusty Jones announced his retirement after 28 years in the NFL. He was eventually replaced by Mike Clark. On January 28, Chicago hired former Bears safety Chris Harris as defensive quality control, with Sean Desai serving the same position, along with Dwayne Stukes as assistant special teams coordinator.

On May 3, Bears pro scouting director Chris Ballard, who had been hired by general manager Phil Emery, left the team for the Chiefs and was replaced by assistant director of college scouting Kevin Turks. Regional scout James Kirkland was also let go. On May 6, executive director and Southeastern Conference overseer, Ted Monago, joined the St. Louis Rams. On the same day, Kevin Turks and Dwayne Joseph were promoted to director of pro personnel and assistant director of pro personnel, respectively.

Roster changes Position Player Free agencytag Date signed 2013 team QB Josh McCown UFA March 29 Chicago Bears RB Kahlil Bell UFA August 11 New York Jets OG Lance Louis UFA March 27 Miami Dolphins OG Chris Spencer UFA April 1 Tennessee Titans OG Chilo Rachal UFA April 10 Arizona Cardinals OT Jonathan Scott UFA March 25 Chicago Bears DE Israel Idonije UFA June 25 Detroit Lions DT Amobi Okoye UFA – – LB Geno Hayes UFA March 13 Jacksonville Jaguars LB Nick Roach UFA March 15 Oakland Raiders CB Zack Bowman UFA March 15 Chicago Bears CB Kelvin Hayden UFA March 26 Chicago Bears CB D. J. Moore UFA March 19 Carolina Panthers S Troy Nolan UFA July 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers K Olindo Mare UFA – –RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent LEGEND Light green background indicates a player re-signed by the Bears. Light red background indicates a player who departed from the Bears. The Bears entered free agency with 16 unrestricted free agents that season.

Acquisitions The Bears acquired free agents Cheta Ozougwu, Brittan Golden, Matt Blanchard, Terrence Toliver, Patrick Trahan, Brody Eldridge, Fendi Onobun, Lawrence Wilson, Cyhl Quarles, Tom Nelson, and LeQuan Lewis in the pre-free agency signing period.

NFL free agency opened on March 12, with the Bears signing New York Giants tight end Martellus Bennett and New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod. From March 20 to 24, the Bears signed at least one player per day, starting with Turk McBride. Steve Maneri, D. J. Williams, Tom Zbikowski, James Anderson, Matt Slauson, Andre Fluellen, Kyle Moore, Taylor Boggs, Eben Britton, and Austin Signor followed. The only signing in May was undrafted rookie Maurice Jones on May 12. On June 10, the Bears signed Devin Aromashodu, Jerrell Jackson and Tony Fiammetta, followed by Sedrick Ellis the next day.

Departures The first departure of the team was receiver Johnny Knox on February 12, who had suffered a serious injury in 2011 and missed the entire 2012 season. On March 13, tight ends Kellen Davis and Matt Spaeth were waived. There was only one departure in April, occurring on April 2, with the release of defensive lineman Matt Toeaina. On June 9, offensive lineman and the team's first-round draft pick in 2011, Gabe Carimi, were traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft. The following day, Evan Rodriguez, Dale Moss and Demetrius Fields were waived.

Eleven of the Bears' UFAs did not return, nine of whom joined other teams, starting with linebacker Geno Hayes' signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 13. The Bears lost another linebacker in Nick Roach on March 15, when he joined the Oakland Raiders, and another defensive player was lost when cornerback D. J. Moore was signed by the Carolina Panthers four days later. On March 20, eight-time Pro Bowler and 13-year linebacker Brian Urlacher was not retained for the 2013 season. Six days later, Jason Campbell was signed by the Cleveland Browns, and the next day, Lance Louis joined the Miami Dolphins.

2013 draft class

The Bears entered the draft with needs at positions including offensive lineman, linebacker, defensive lineman, and cornerback. In the first round, with the twentieth pick, the Bears selected Oregon offensive tackle Kyle Long. In the second round, with the fiftieth pick, the Bears selected Jon Bostic, a linebacker from Florida. Two rounds later, the Bears used their 117th overall pick on Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene and in the fifth round, the Bears traded down ten spots with the Atlanta Falcons to draft Louisiana Tech offensive tackle Jordan Mills. In the sixth round, Chicago selected Georgia Bulldogs defensive end Cornelius Washington. Using a seventh-rounder acquired in the trade with Atlanta, the Bears drafted Washington State wide receiver Marquess Wilson.

The Bears draft class received average grades, with questions from some graders questioning the selections of Long and Bostic, including Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, who gave the class a grade of "C+". ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. stated he "wasn't in love with the value" of Long's talent, classifying the draft class as a "C+", while Sports Illustrated writer Chris Burke asked why Chicago selected Bostic over Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown. However, Burke praised Washington's selection as a potential steal, giving a grade of "B−". Thad Novak of the International Business Times gave Long the lowest grade of the players drafted by Chicago with a "C−", considering him a "raw" player; Mills was awarded a "C+", due to not blocking against many top defenders in college. Washington and Wilson were given a "B−" and "B+", respectively. Novak noted the former, despite being a linebacker, could adjust into the Bears' 4-3 defense. Linebackers Bostic and Greene were given an "A" and "A+", the latter being considered a steal who could add depth to the linebacking corps. Vinny Iyer of Sporting News gave the class a "C", stating Long should start as a guard before switching to tackle, which would be filled by Mills; Iyer also considered Bostic a "textbook replacement" for Brian Urlacher, while stating that Greene could replace Nick Roach as a strong-side linebacker. After the 2013 season, Kiper improved the Bears' class to a "B".

All six drafted players agreed to four-year contracts. Mills and Washington were the first players to sign on May 1, followed by Greene and Wilson the following day. Bostic was the next player to sign, agreeing to a contract on May 9, and Long was the final player to sign, signing his contract on May 17.

Notes The team traded its third-round selection along with a 2012 third-round selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The team traded its seventh-round selection to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for defensive tackle Brian Price.

+ Draft Day Trades Round Overall Team Received 5 40 to Atlanta Falcons Atlanta's fifth round pick (163rd overall)Atlanta's seventh round pick (236th overall)

Undrafted free agents After the draft's conclusion, the Bears announced they had contracted ten undrafted free agents: LSU running back Michael Ford and center P. J. Lonergan, Rutgers receiver Mark Harrison, Oklahoma cornerback Demontre Hurst and punter Tress Way, Iowa State receiver Josh Lenz, Montana State linebacker Zach Minter, Memphis receiver Marcus Rucker, Georgia Southern defensive tackle Brent Russell, and NC State cornerback C. J. Wilson.

Preseason

Transactions

Schedule