Former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Ricky Proel went on "The Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 on Monday and said he thinks former Rams head coach Mike Martz can succeed as offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears.  But Proehl says Martz needs to "understand that he's not a head coach, he's an offensive coordinator, and ultimately it's Lovie's team."  Bears head coach Lovie Smith hired Martz in hopes of providing a spark for the team's offense, which is led by quarterback Jay Cutler.  Cutler threw 26 interceptions in his first season with the Bears in 2009.  "If Jay can understand that going in that this is what works and what will be successful and you're going to do it his way, if he can understand that, they'll have a great relationship, because Mike will make him a star," Proehl said. "I know in his mind he is a star, but he can take him to possibly his next level."  But Proehl also said while Martz helped build an offensive juggernaut in St. Louis, his ego started to get in the way.  "I think his ego got in the way," Proehl said. "He started out small when he had Kurt as far as keeping it simple. Our passing game, our offense as a whole evolved tremendously. We'd go into gameplans week in and week out with 200-plus plays. Did we need all those plays? No. We had smart guys who could assume their responsibility and learn all those plays. I think we got too cute, too fancy and over time it ended up being our demise."  And while Martz was ultimately one reason why Kurt Warner left the Rams following the 2003 season, Martz was a big reason for Warner's rise to stardom.  "Mike can be his greatest strength, and he can be his greatest weakness," Proehl said. "In my mind, he's a genius as far as Xs and Os. When we were hitting on all cylinders and playing well, it was exciting to go into an offensive meeting with Mike. He had packages for each guy, and it was a lot of fun, because he made it exciting for us."  Ultimately, Proehl thinks the Bears have the pieces in place that Martz can utilize to be successful again.  "Mike would have to put the pieces together in Chicago to be successful, but I think he's got some young guys who could do it."  To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor  . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to  . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
Ex-Rams WR Ricky Proehl: Mike Martz could take Jay Cutler to 'next level' - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com