Fact or Fiction, Bears need change

Every night, on my long commute home from the western suburbs into the city, I listen to sports talk radio only to hear people complain about how bad the Bears are, how everyone is disappointed and how the coaching staff and management need to be fired. I’ve always thought that there is no way the Bears are going to fire Lovie Smith and/or Jerry Angelo. On Tuesday, Hub Arkush was on the Boers and Bernstein Show on 670 The Score and revealed that the Bears are doing their due diligence in a contingency plan, just in case the Bears fire Lovie Smith.

Credit: AP

Smith and Angelo got the Bears to the Super Bowl and traded for Jay Cutler. I would think they have a pass and are allowed a little more margin of error. Despite this, the Smith has a 35-36 winning percentage outside of the 13-3 Super Bowl year. Angelo, although he has found some gems, has repeatedly failed in the draft.

Although, I have been a Lovie Smith guy, it’s time to let him go. The Bears are obviously in rebuilding mode – they no longer have a dominant defense, nor do they have a dominant run. They have proclaimed Cutler as the franchise, but the Bears lack the moving pieces around him and are far from being a potent offense.

Many are speculating that Ron Turner will be the fall guy if the Bears continue their downward slide. If Turner gets fired, Smith will have to find a new offensive coordinator, Cutler’s second coordinator in two years with the Bears. Having another coordinator that will bring in another offensive scheme might hurt Cutler in the long run and stunt his growth as a quarterback. Mike Martz has mentioned that he would be interested in the OC job if it’s available.

The Bears, according to Arkush, have been doing their due diligence in figuring out how much it will cost to fire Smith and replace him with a Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, John Gruden or Tony Dungy. There also may have been contact between intermediaries but not with an actual candidate. Arkush has ruled Mike Holmgren out as saying that his source, a ranking executive within the Bears organization, had no interest.

The consensus with these top-tier coaching candidates, because of their resumes and previous success, is that they may have interest in having more control over personnel decisions and command a premium salary. Keep in mind that not too many coaches are successful at being the head coach let alone taking on more responsibility as a GM.

Last off season, the Bears shocked the world and traded for Jay Cutler. For a team that has a reputation of being a little more conservative, the Bears did everything they could to finally get their franchise quarterback. The McCaskey’s realize the investment they’ve made in Jay Cutler and they too realize the Bears are in rebuilding mode.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Bears make a move and relieve Smith of his duties in the off season. Cowher has said on record that he would be excited if the Bears had an opportunity and Shanahan, Cutler’s former mentor at Denver, hasn’t ruled out the possibility. The fact that the Bears may have an opportunity in the near future, maybe even after this season, may force these coaching candidates to take a wait-and-see approach with what the Bears do, rather than taking the Cleveland, Buffalo or Washington job when they come available. The fact that the Bears have committed to a franchise quarterback, makes them have the most attractive job in the league.

Tags: Lovie Smith