<P> In 2012, general manager Jerry Angelo was fired after 11 seasons with the team . During the team's GM hunt, the team considered New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross, San Diego Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye III, New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht, and Kansas City Chiefs director of college scouting, former Bears scout and eventual GM Phil Emery, along with in - house candidate Tim Ruskell . </P> <P> Offensive coordinator Mike Martz also retired, and was replaced by O - line coach Mike Tice . Emery's first move as general manager was giving Matt Forté the franchise tag, as well as acquiring Pro Bowl MVP Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins, reuniting him with Cutler . </P> <P> Through the first seven games of the 2012 season, the Bears became the first team in league history to return six interceptions for touchdowns, with another interception by Brian Urlacher in Week 9 bringing the Bears closer to the record set by the 1961 San Diego Chargers . However, after the Bears missed the playoffs after starting the year 7--1, making the Bears the first team to start the season 7--1 and not make the playoffs since the 1996 Washington Redskins, Smith was fired, and was eventually succeeded by Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman . On March 20, 2013, the Brian Urlacher era also came to an end when he and the Bears failed to agree on a new contract . </P> <P> The Trestman era began with a 24--21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, as Trestman became the fourth head coach in franchise history to win in his head coaching debut, after George Halas (1920), Neill Armstrong (1978) and Dick Jauron (1999). In his first season, Trestman helped lead the Bears to one of the best offenses in franchise history, concluding 2013 with the second - best scoring offense in the NFL with 445 points and breaking team records in total yards (6,109), passing yards (4,450), passing touchdowns (32) and first downs (344). Conversely, 2013 was also one of the worst defensive years in Bears' history as well, with franchise - lows in yards allowed (6,313), rushing yards allowed (2,583) and points (478), while also ranking dead last in run defense by allowing a league - worst 5.35 rushing yards per carry . This would lead to the Bears finishing 8--8 in their first season under Trestman, being eliminated from the playoffs by the Green Bay Packers in the final game of the season . </P>

When did the chicago bears join the nfl