Richard Dent was sacked once again in his pursuit of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The former Bears defensive end was left out Saturday when finalists were named for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. Dent has been a finalist six times in the past seven years.

The players who made the cut included Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. Longtime coach Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little were named finalists by the seniors committee.

Dent recorded 124 1/2 sacks for the Bears between 1983 and 1993. The 6-foot-5, 265 pound player from Tennessee State also forced 37 fumbles, picked off eight passes and logged 641 tackles for the Bears.

Dent was one of 10 modern-era finalists for the Hall of Fame. He missed the cut along with Dermontti Dawson, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed and Shannon Sharpe. Each finalist had to receive at least 80 percent approval from the 44-member Hall of Fame selection committee to be selected.

– Tom Musick

The Bears did not need to look far to find their new defensive coordinator.
Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was promoted Friday to guide the Bears’ defense, which finished 17th in the league in 2009. The announcement came exactly a month after Bears coach Lovie Smith said he would relinquish defensive play-calling duties heading into next season.
“Rod is among the best defensive coaches in the NFL and will be an excellent defensive coordinator for us,” Smith told the Bears’ Web site. “We considered outside possibilities, but I didn’t feel our defense would benefit the same way it will with Rod in the coordinator role.”
The Bears also hired former San Francisco 49ers assistant Shane Day as quarterbacks coach and promoted Eric Washington to defensive line coach. The team named Andrew Hayes-Stoker as offensive quality control coach and Mikal Smith, Lovie’s son, as defensive quality control coach.

– Tom Musick

The Bears have moved quickly to fill assistant coaching positions after naming Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator this week.

The Bears interviewed Shane Day for the vacant quarterbacks coach position Wednesday at Halas Hall. Day was the quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers for the past three seasons, and he worked alongside Martz in 2008.

Day also has worked with Mike DeBord, who was hired as the Bears' tight ends coach this week. DeBord was the tight ends coach last season for the Seattle Seahawks, where he helped John Carlson emerge with 51 receptions for 574 yards and seven touchdowns.

The quarterbacks coach is the final vacancy that the Bears need to fill on offense. The new staff is led by Martz as coordinator, Mike Tice as offensive line coach, DeBord in charge of tight ends, Tim Spencer in charge of running backs and Darryl Drake in charge of wide receivers.

The Bears also expect to name a defensive coordinator soon. Bears coach Lovie Smith said this week that the team was keeping "all options open" in the search for a defensive play-caller.

-Tom Musick

The Bears hired Mike Martz on Monday as offensive coordinator.

Martz, 58, will rejoin former colleague Lovie Smith to run the Bears' offense. The pair worked together when Martz was the St. Louis Rams' head coach and Smith was the team's defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003.

Smith emphasized the need for a balanced attack on offense this season, but Martz has favored the passing game over the running game throughout his career. He guided a Super Bowl champion Rams offense that was dubbed "The Greatest Show on Turf" and included great players such as Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

Martz was 56-36 in almost six years as the Rams' head coach, but he left St. Louis after infighting between the coaching staff, front office and ownership. He was the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007, and he led the San Francisco 49ers offense in 2008.

This season, Martz worked at the NFL Network, where his comments about Jay Cutler's body language created controversy. But Martz reportedly met with Cutler this weekend, and the franchise quarterback downplayed the coach's criticisms earlier this season.

The Bears interviewed several candidates and took nearly four weeks before deciding to hire Martz. The team still lacks a defensive coordinator, although that job is perceived to be less important because Smith will implement his "Cover 2" defense regardless of the coordinator.

Read Tuesday's Northwest Herald for more about Martz joining the Bears.

-Tom Musick

Bears rookie Johnny Knox padded his bank account after this weekend's Pro Bowl, but he could have earned more with an NFC win.

Knox received $22,500 for taking part in Sunday's game, which the AFC won, 41-34. Players from the winning team received $45,000 apiece, while the losers received half as much.

Knox avoided mistakes but did not manage to break a long return. He averaged 25 yards a kickoff return to lead the NFC, and his 30-yard return marked the longest of any NFC returner.

Knox was the first Bears rookie to make the Pro Bowl since Devin Hester went as a return specialist in 2006. Knox finished second in the NFC with a 29-yard return average this season, including a 102-yard return for a touchdown in Week 4 against Detroit.

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If you have room for one more "best of the decade" item, we'll try to make it quick.

Four current Bears players were named to the NFL's "All Decade" team, which was decided by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee members.

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, center Olin Kreutz and ex-return specialist Devin Hester all made the cut. So did left tackle Orlando Pace, who played all but one season for St. Louis before joining the Bears in 2009.

Here is a look at the committee's all-decade roster.

Offense

QB: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning

RB: Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, LaDainian Tomlinson

FB: Lorenzo Neal

WR: Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens

TE: Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez

OT: Walter Jones, Jonathen Ogden, Orlando Pace, William Roaf

OG: Larry Allen, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields

C: Olin Kreutz, Kevin Mawae

Defense

DE: Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor

DT: La'Roi Glover, Warren Sapp, Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams

LB: Derrick Brooks, Ray Lewis, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher, DeMarcus Ware

DB: Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber, Ty Law, Charles Woodson

S: Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper

Special temas

PR: Dante Hall, Devin Hester

KR: Joshua Cribbs, Dante Hall

P: Shane Lechler, Brian Moorman

K: David Akers, Adam Vinatieri

Coaches

Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy

-Tom Musick