LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Don’t expect a tearful reunion between Bears defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and the Lions Sunday at Soldier Field. Detroit’s former head coach insists that it won’t be an emotional game for him.

“For me? No way. I’m not built that way,” Marinelli said. “I’ll be looking at us and seeing how we play and worrying about our pad level and all the things that we have to do to execute well.

Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli is focusing on the Bears and not the Lions.

“All week we’ve just worked very hard on us, and that’s the truth. I get wired in for our guys. Any thoughts that go any other place other than this team, that’s wrong on my part.”

Marinelli’s name has been mentioned frequently over the past few weeks in conjunction with the solid play of the defensive line, which has registered six of the Bears’ nine sacks in the first three games.

But this week the veteran coach is in the spotlight because he’ll face the Lions for the first time since they fired him Dec. 29, one day after the team completed the first 0-16 season in NFL history.

While conceding that last year was difficult, Marinelli also grew from the experience.

“When you’re hitting bumps, you become more creative,” he said. “I become more determined and you embrace the moment.  Adversity is something special, it really is, if you embrace it correctly. If you run from it, it’ll wear you out. But if you embrace it and find a way to get better, that’s what I tried to do.”

Asked what he learned last year, Marinelli said: “Being persistent, having a strong belief in what you’re doing. You keep pushing forward one day at a time. You keep working very hard in terms of your belief system, how you practice and how you do things, and staying focused all the way through.”

Marinelli compiled a 10-38 record in three seasons as Lions coach. Prior to that, he was a highly respected defensive line coach with the Buccaneers from 1996-2005.

Marinelli and Bears coach Lovie Smith worked together for five seasons in Tampa as defensive assistants on Tony Dungy’s staff from 1996-2000. The two roomed together for part of their tenure.

“I see the same guy each day,” Smith said. “Rod comes to work ready to go, ready to do his job and get our guys better. He’s not looking for a whole lot of sympathy. You go through things that don’t turn out the way you wanted them to sometimes and then you move on. Rod has done that. You saw the smile on his face. He’s happy with where he is right now.”

While the Lions have 30 new players under first-year coach Jim Schwartz, Marinelli doesn’t think that what he knows about the individuals he coached who still play in Detroit will help the Bears.

“I think that stuff is way overrated,” he said. “I think you’ve got to go out and have a great week of work, respect your work, respect your work week, and stay on our details, and everything will be fine.”

Marinelli scoffed when asked whether he felt Bears players would try to win Sunday’s game for him.

“We’ve just got to go out and just play ball," he said. "This is too much fun. Just go out and prepare and go. This is a big game because we’re in it. We’re playing at our field, our home stadium. It’s about us going out and executing.”