BOURBONNAIS, ILL. • Isaac Bruce stood between Pisa Tinoisamoa and Brandon Manumaleuna on the sideline, engaging in small talk.

Mike Martz was out on the field — with the quarterbacks, of course. Lovie Smith was out there, too, with the defense — naturally.

Was this some heat-induced flashback to Macomb, circa 2003? Or is this really Chicago, and Smith's seventh season as head coach of the Bears.

"It seems like it's been a long time," Smith said. "But once you see an Isaac Bruce, a Mike Martz, a Pisa Tinoisamoa, it seems like it's been yesterday that we were down in Macomb. But time has gone by. I've learned quite a bit in that time. I'm just looking forward to the next seven years."

But with no postseason trips since the 2006 Super Bowl appearance, Smith might not see Year 8 if the Bears don't reach the playoffs. Chicago is a big stage, and the locals love their Bears. Here in Bourbonnais — aka Bearbonnais — between 3,500 and 5,000 fans attend each training camp practice.

"Everyone knows what the tradition is — what's expected of every coach that's here, every player that puts on the Bear uniform," Smith said. "You embrace that. The fans have been great throughout, they deserve a winner, and we plan on giving it to them."

To help reach that goal, Smith has brought in familiar faces. Smith calls it his "St. Louis Connection."

Tinoisamoa is battling for a starting spot at outside linebacker. Manumaleuna is a backup tight end. Bruce, recently retired, is a training camp coaching intern. And then there's Martz, the Bears' new offensive coordinator.

After a year in exile, Martz is back in business, back doing what he does best. Namely, concocting pass plays that keep defensive coordinators up all night and buckle the knees of defensive backs. And nurturing swagger.

"This is what he does," Bruce said. "He makes players better at any position. He could coach any position. He has the confidence. His confidence has always been contagious, so I think those characteristics of him are definitely a plus and an asset to this organization."

One of the dirty little secrets of the Greatest Show on Turf was that the Rams were never that much better than their opponents. But Martz made them feel like they were.

"Definitely. Definitely," Bruce said. "He had the confidence flowing through the entire building. You could truly walk around with your head up. If you went into another stadium, you could walk around with your head up and your chest out because you believed you were gonna make plays."

Some scoffed when Martz heaped praise on all things Bears during a press conference last week. But that was just Martz Psychology 101: Part of getting better is believing you're better.

Martz was only slightly less effusive during an interview with the Post-Dispatch.

"This is a good football team," he said. "I love the organization. Good players. The coaching staff has a real special chemistry with this group. You know, you get in those moments where things are really good and everything kind of meshes. This has that kind of feel. Everything's just kind of — it's hard to explain — there's a lot of good things that could happen. We'll just see."

He stopped just short of calling it a 'special place in time," his catch phrase for the Greatest Show.

Time stood still for Martz last season. After parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers, Martz couldn't find work in the NFL. Almost all of the coordinator and head-coaching jobs seemed to be going to relatively unproven guys. Was last year tough for Martz and his wife, Julie?

"Noooo," Martz insisted. "We've been married now 39 years, it was our anniversary (Saturday). The kids are gone. When you spend so much of your life apart, professionally from her, then you get together again for that period of time you start to remember why you got together in the first place.

"We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the TV work a lot (for the NFL Network). I didn't think I would, but I really did."

Martz said he and Julie planned on traveling, but except for a golf trip to Pebble Beach stayed close to their San Diego home. "We just kind of dinked around the house," he said. "It was nice to just kind of unwind for a while."

Nonetheless, during his one-year sabbatical there were times when Martz wondered if he'd ever coach in the NFL again. And then Lovie came calling. It was Martz who gave Smith a huge career break when he hired him as Rams defensive coordinator in 2001.

Smith has returned the favor, bringing in Martz to take quarterback Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense to the next level. Yep, the same Cutler who wore out his welcome in Denver, and didn't mesh with Martz's predecessor in Chicago, Ron Turner. And the same Martz who can be volatile, brash, outspoken. Who after a crash-and-burn in St. Louis in 2005 didn't last as coordinator in Detroit and San Francisco.

Cutler and Martz. Martz and Cutler. It's one of the best story lines in the NFL this season.

"It's been a great relationship that they're forming," Smith said. "Great quarterbacks, you talk about the physical ability that Jay has. He wants someone that can take him to the next level. Mike, of course, his offensive mind is second to none.

"So they've meshed well. Mutual respect. And again, I've seen Jay grow. Right now his potential is pretty strong. He's going to do wonders in this offense."

So far, Martz has taken a low-key approach in Chicago. Interview sessions have been few and far between, prompting conspiracy theorists to wonder if he's being muzzled by the Bears. Then again, maybe Martz is toning it down on his own, simply throwing himself into the job while realizing he can revive his career if things click in Chicago.

"I think he's calmed down just a little bit," Bruce said. "But he still has that fiery attitude. He has that spirit of excellence all over him. You can see it coming out of his pores, and that's what he wants to rub on these players."

Especially Cutler. Martz has done his best work with unheralded quarterbacks. With Washington, Trent Green was an eighth-round draft pick. In St. Louis, Kurt Warner was undrafted and Marc Bulger was a sixth-rounder. In Detroit, Martz had journeyman Jon Kitna. In San Francisco, Martz opted for the likes of Shaun Hill and J.T. O'Sullivan over underachieving former No.1 overall draft pick Alex Smith.

Despite Smith's lofty draft status, Martz never had a QB of Cutler's pedigree.

"This is probably the first quarterback he's had initial contact with that's been to the Pro Bowl, that has the talent he has," Bruce said. "And I think Jay's going to take it just to a whole 'nother level. I mean, I really wouldn't be surprised if he's starting in a Super Bowl during Mike's tenure here, and making a tremendous amount of plays."

Will Martz and Cutler make beautiful offense together? Or will Martz blow his top after a four-interception day by Cutler?

That's the beauty of the 2010 season in Chicago.