CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears hired Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman on Wednesday to replace the fired Lovie Smith and gave him two basic tasks — fix the offense and lead the team to the playoffs on a consistent basis.

How he meshes with quarterback Jay Cutler could go a long way toward determining his success.

It's the first head-coaching job in the NFL for Trestman, a longtime assistant in the league who spent the past five seasons coaching the CFL's Alouettes and led them to two Grey Cup titles. Trestman was an offensive coordinator with Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland.

Chicago general manager Phil Emery cast a wide net in his search, meeting with at least 13 candidates. Besides Trestman, he also brought back Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians for second interviews.

Trestman wasted little time starting to assemble his staff.

A person familiar with the situation said the Bears hired New Orleans Saints offensive-line coach Aaron Kromer as their offensive coordinator, hoping to revive a unit that often sputtered with Mike Tice calling the plays.

Kromer served as the Saints' head coach for six games this season while interim coach Joe Vitt was suspended for his role in the bounty scandal.

The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, reported on their website that special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis was leaving to become Chicago's assistant head coach/special-teams coordinator.

For Chicago, the moves come after a 10-win season in which the Bears fell apart after winning seven of their first eight games.

Smith was let go after nine years, ending a run that included a trip to the Super Bowl but also saw Chicago miss the playoffs five of the past six seasons.

Notes

• The Arizona Cardinals, one of two NFL teams still looking for a head coach, have interviewed the Seahawks' Bevell and plan to talk to the Colts' Arians. Bevell, 43, was the fifth known candidate to interview.

Bevell, who grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz., and played for Chaparral High School, has a career of working with successful quarterbacks, including Brett Favre and Seattle's rookie sensation Russell Wilson.

• It's too early for the Atlanta Falcons to know how much defensive end John Abraham will play in Sunday's NFC title game. Abraham, the NFL's active sacks leader, made it through just 15 snaps in last week's divisional playoff victory over Seattle before aggravating a left-ankle injury that forced him to leave in the second quarter.

• New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will replace Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers on the NFC roster for the Pro Bowl. Rodgers dropped out because of knee and ankle issues. Denver's Peyton Manning is on the AFC roster.