The past is often a window into an individuals future; what they have done, not done or experienced can provide a glimpse into how they will act or react in times to come. Where someone has been can be a clue to where they are going.
RELATED: Profiling the Bears' head coaching candidates
The three finalists for the Bears head-coaching job have a number of interesting elements on their curricula NFL vitae:
The Bears have never hired a head coach who has been a pro head coach previously in his career. Two of the three have not only been head coaches; they have been successful in those jobs.
Bruce Arians was 9-3 as interim Indianapolis Colts head coach last season when coach Chuck Pagano was away for leukemia treatments. Marc Trestman has coach the Montreal Alouettes since 2007.
Darrell Bevell has coached against the Bears every season of his NFL life. He was a Green Bay assistant from 2000-2005; Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator from 2006-2010; and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator in 2011-2012.
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All have been quarterback position coaches. All coached quarterbacks who won Super Bowls in their careers (Arians, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger; Bevell, Brett Favre; Trestman, Steve Young).
All three were themselves Division I college quarterbacks: Arians at Virginia Tech; Bevell at Wisconsin; and Trestman at Minnesota.
All three candidates were in the 2012 playoffs but their teams were losers in their last games. The Colts lost in the 2012 wild-card round, although Arians was hospitalized with a virus for the game. Bevells Seahawks staged a dramatic comeback in the divisional round against Atlanta but lost in the final 8 seconds. Trestman and the Alouettes lost to the Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup semifinals last Nov. 18.
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All three coached against Lovie Smith. Arians with Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, with Cleveland vs. Smith as Rams defensive coordinator; Bevell with Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle; Trestman with Oakland vs. Smith as St. Louis defensive coordinator and with Detroit vs. Smith as Tampa Bay linebackers coach.
The Bears were not caught up in landing the hot young candidate. Arians is the oldest of the 13 candidates at 60. Trestman turns 57 on Tuesday. Bevell is 43.