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The Current Status of Lovie Smith's Career
It's 4:36am EST, and I haven't slept a wink this evening/morning. So, my cure for insomnia was to come by and do some more post whoring, and in particular, add another two cents (or maybe a nickel?) to the ever-enduring flame that comes in the form of a passionate question by we Bears fans:
Should Lovie Smith be fired?
The answer to that query is not so simple. You see, he has led the Bears to a record of 58-47, good for a .552 winning percentage, as well as three winning seasons despite coaching less than stellar talent on the offensive side of the football. He has won two NFC North Division titles and coached the Bears to a berth in Super Bowl XLI before they fell tragically to the Indianapolis Colts as a result of Rex Grossman fumbling, stumbling, and throwing two costly interceptions, one of which was returned by Bob Sanders for a touchdown (and thus, sealed the Bears fate). While Lovie has struggled in the three seasons prior to now, it is important to note that he did manage to finish up with a winning record in 2008 despite struggles in all phases of the game. This year, he surrounded himself with former head coaches Rod Marinelli, Mike Martz, and Mike Tice to coordinate the defense, the offense, and the offensive line, respectively, and they have been been getting results, including marked improvements in performance from week to week. The Bears now currently sit at 7-3, in de facto sole possession of 1st place because of the win earlier in the season over the Packers, and have just come off two of their best defensive performances of the season, including a shut out of the Miami Dolphins.
From this brief historical narrative I just typed about Lovie Smith's career thus far in Chicago, my gut instinct tells me that will not be fired. He shouldn't be, after all, because the ultimate decision maker as far as the talent he will be dealt during any given season comes from the office of Jerry Angelo. Angelo's track record indicates that he is strong at drafting defensive talent in the lower rounds of the draft, but that he struggles with drafting quality first round picks, particularly when it comes to offensive players. (Need we talk about Rex Grossman and Cedric Benson?) Off the top of my head, I know that Lance Briggs was drafted in the 5th Round his rookie year, and he's turned into an All-Pro OLB. While Angelo has seen to it that the Bears are always a full cupboard when it comes to lower round draft picks, he struggles to get key skill position players on offense, and it has hindered Chicago's progress in further diversifying its offensive attack with deep post patterns and bomb passes in recent years. Not since the 2006 season with the WR combination of former 2nd Round draft pick Bernard Berrian and veteran Mushin Muhammed have the Bears been a threat to go long and actually complete a bomb or a deep post pattern. This was evidenced by Devin Hester's failure to catch Jay Cutler's deep pass in the end zone that would have blown the game wide open earlier than it would actually happen against Miami on Thursday night.
So, what do you suggest we do to cure all ills with this organization, you ask? Lovie Smith must stay on as head coach. He is the most successful Bears head coach since the days of Mike Ditka, and I think that with he, along with his excellent coaching staff, which is possibly the best in the NFL, we can return to prominence as one of those franchises in the league that every analyst from ESPN to the NFL Network to Timbuktu talks about and drools over. However, Jerry Angelo must go. His arrogance is beyond belief, and I truly believe that as long as he is in control in Halas Hall, we will lack consistency, and that will ultimately lead to Smith's denouement and firing as head coach because he will get the blame for the failures. Lovie Smith is a victim of one big, grievous wrong by the McCaskey family: the presence of Jerry Angelo as general manager of the Chicago Bears.
Last edited by Dagan81; 11-20-2010 at 04:15 AM.
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Nick High-fived for this post.
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Like it or not, he may be working himself back INTO his job. We look so much better than last year, and we have momentum.
As for being a team that ESPN and the NFL Network drools over, never happen.
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I've always liked him & will always defend him, so I'm glad it's looking like he'll stay. Angelo is a much bigger worry. Angelo has been more hit & miss with us. A Gm with a more consistent track record of quality picks would help. But Lovie, I like him as this teams coach & am happy he is
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Originally Posted by
packer_smacker 
I've always liked him & will always defend him, so I'm glad it's looking like he'll stay. Angelo is a much bigger worry. Angelo has been more hit & miss with us. A Gm with a more consistent track record of quality picks would help. But Lovie, I like him as this teams coach & am happy he is
What Lovie has done since arriving:
1) Bears won back to back NFC North titles (which other then 2001, can you remember the last NFC North title before that???).
2) Bears won the NFCC, first trip to the SB in 20+ years.
3) Bears have dominated the ST's consistently.
4) Bears have had a fantastic defense (a couple years they were down, but also devastated by injury. Again think how many times the Bears defense was great before his arrival, other then the 2001 season).
5) Bears have been #1 in the league consistently for creating turnovers on defense. This was always a Lovie trademark even when he won the SB with the Rams.
6) Beat GB and Farve consistently. Favre owned the Bears year in and year out, when Lovie arrived the Bears consistently beat Favre and GB. That was great because it would have sucked seeing Favre retire before the Bears had a chance to get revenge.
What I don't like about Lovie:
1) The Bears have failed MISERABLY on top picks since his arrival (top picks including top 3 rounds). Others play a part in this, but certainly the head coach has a part in this too. (Imagine if they hit on just "1" of those top picks to get a star player elsewhere). On the other side of this, they hit big on top Briggs and Hester. They have been fantastic in the late rounds, finding guys like Knox, Melton, Moore, Bowman, Vasher (now gone but a couple huge years), CHarris ... all later round picks that evolved into big contributors. Gould and Idonije were 2 monster finds for cut players ... huge. I think Melton and Moore look like guys with huge upside. Really the late round picks have saved this team from becoming a disaster, because failing on your top draft picks is usually the fastest route to the bottom of the league.
2) Boneheaded challenges or TO's used inappropriately. There has been alot to complain about in these areas.
3) Wierd personel moves. (The "redshirting" of certain rookies seems odd. Bennett not playing his rookie year ... not playing Aromashadu more ... Others look like they should have played more during rookie seasons, etc.).
There is alot of things to look at good or bad, but there are alot of good things. The Bears were AWFUL for 10 years where they basically had one good season until Lovie arrived. Remember when we had ZERO probowlers fairly consistently? I'm not sure if they should replace Lovie or not, because alot of good has happened and the Bears are looking like a team with alot of upside at this point. We could end up with a Childress, Wannestaedt, or Phillips .....
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Originally Posted by
JustWinBaby What Lovie has done since arriving:
1) Bears won back to back NFC North titles (which other then 2001, can you remember the last NFC North title before that???).
2) Bears won the NFCC, first trip to the SB in 20+ years.
3) Bears have dominated the ST's consistently.
4) Bears have had a fantastic defense (a couple years they were down, but also devastated by injury. Again think how many times the Bears defense was great before his arrival, other then the 2001 season).
5) Bears have been #1 in the league consistently for creating turnovers on defense. This was always a Lovie trademark even when he won the SB with the Rams.
6) Beat GB and Farve consistently. Favre owned the Bears year in and year out, when Lovie arrived the Bears consistently beat Favre and GB. That was great because it would have sucked seeing Favre retire before the Bears had a chance to get revenge.
What I don't like about Lovie:
1) The Bears have failed MISERABLY on top picks since his arrival (top picks including top 3 rounds). Others play a part in this, but certainly the head coach has a part in this too. (Imagine if they hit on just "1" of those top picks to get a star player elsewhere). On the other side of this, they hit big on top Briggs and Hester. They have been fantastic in the late rounds, finding guys like Knox, Melton, Moore, Bowman, Vasher (now gone but a couple huge years), CHarris ... all later round picks that evolved into big contributors. Gould and Idonije were 2 monster finds for cut players ... huge. I think Melton and Moore look like guys with huge upside. Really the late round picks have saved this team from becoming a disaster, because failing on your top draft picks is usually the fastest route to the bottom of the league.
2) Boneheaded challenges or TO's used inappropriately. There has been alot to complain about in these areas.
3) Wierd personel moves. (The "redshirting" of certain rookies seems odd. Bennett not playing his rookie year ... not playing Aromashadu more ... Others look like they should have played more during rookie seasons, etc.).
There is alot of things to look at good or bad, but there are alot of good things. The Bears were AWFUL for 10 years where they basically had one good season until Lovie arrived. Remember when we had ZERO probowlers fairly consistently? I'm not sure if they should replace Lovie or not, because alot of good has happened and the Bears are looking like a team with alot of upside at this point. We could end up with a Childress, Wannestaedt, or Phillips .....
We certainly don't want that. Look. Lovie isn't perfect; no coach ever is. Iron Mike wasn't perfect because he leaned to heavily on the wizardry of Buddy Ryan and the defense to win the majority of his games, and once Walter Payton was gone, the offense was never the same. On the flip side, he has managed to keep the Bears in contention for the division title in four out of the seven seasons he's been coaching in Chicago, and is well on his way to finishing with at least a .500 record with one more win. However, should the Bears falter along the way and fall out of contention for not just a division title, but a spot as a Wild Card, then yes, I'd say that we should fire Lovie. For now, though, he has all of Bear Nation in a tizzy and giddy with anticipation of a possible division championship AND the possibility of playing for something far grander.
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I'd like to see what him and this staff can do with another season...playoffs or not. Angelo...I dunno. If they replace him, they'd BETTER get it right. Otherwise, another season with this staff won't matter, and neither will another staff. Talent is key in the NFL, and I don't care who's coaching, you can't make chicken salad outta chicken shit
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Originally Posted by
Nick I'd like to see what him and this staff can do with another season...playoffs or not. Angelo...I dunno. If they replace him, they'd BETTER get it right. Otherwise, another season with this staff won't matter, and neither will another staff. Talent is key in the NFL, and I don't care who's coaching, you can't make chicken salad outta chicken shit
Exactly my point. Except if Lovie manages to win big this year, he should be set up nicely for next season. Angelo is a douche; I have never liked him. I think it's time that the McCaskeys cut ties with him. Surely we could find a high profile enough GM to take his place who would draft better in the 1st round.
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Originally Posted by
Dagan81 Exactly my point. Except if Lovie manages to win big this year, he should be set up nicely for next season. Angelo is a douche; I have never liked him. I think it's time that the McCaskeys cut ties with him. Surely we could find a high profile enough GM to take his place who would draft better in the 1st round.
yeah, if we wind up with a good record and come out with a playoff win, quality GM's should line up.
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Lovie's problem is his loyalty to certain players, good or not, and willingness to bury other players, good or not. He is a poor in game manager, and he runs to soft of a camp/pre season. If we had actually bothered to hit people in training camp and pre season we would have found out who our best OL men were, and we would not have spent 6 weeks figuring it out. If we had actually bothered to run a brand new O in preseason(not just a base 'nilla) our players would not have spent 6 weeks getting the hang of it.
I just said it in another thread, but this season he can thank his saved job to Rod M, who has reinvigorated the D, they are all playing like they did prior to the SB. Swarming D, hard hits. The last few years, injury or no, they looked either bored or cocky. Rod has got them playing w/that fire they had the 2 years when Riviera was here.
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Nick High-fived for this post.
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01 Lovie's problem is his loyalty to certain players, good or not, and willingness to bury other players, good or not. He is a poor in game manager, and he runs to soft of a camp/pre season. If we had actually bothered to hit people in training camp and pre season we would have found out who our best OL men were, and we would not have spent 6 weeks figuring it out. If we had actually bothered to run a brand new O in preseason(not just a base 'nilla) our players would not have spent 6 weeks getting the hang of it.
I just said it in another thread, but this season he can thank his saved job to Rod M, who has reinvigorated the D, they are all playing like they did prior to the SB. Swarming D, hard hits. The last few years, injury or no, they looked either bored or cocky. Rod has got them playing w/that fire they had the 2 years when Riviera was here.
Lovie doesn't have to thank RM for anything. It was Lovie's move to bring him in when no one else wanted RM. Thats a good move from the head coach and he gets credit on that.
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