Thread: Lovie should be fired.

I didn't realize that Lovie made the call for Martz until yesterday. I guess that's what happens when losing gets you so down that you kind of bail on the team for a period of time. I didn't come back to this site until October 2010, and ever since, I've been following what has been going on.

Lovie Smith needs to stay if for no other reason because he is a sound defensive coach. Give him a good offensive coordinator and I will show you a team that will have its competition back on their heels. I can't imagine the Packers going 15-1 again next year, so I think it's going to be a three-way race to the finish between the Packers, the Bears, and the Lions. Getting a good GM who will have a good rapport with Lovie Smith will help immensely. Lovie won with a shitty GM. Imagine what he can do with one who will build him a complete team.

Originally Posted by yttocs

Lovie wanted Martz , Jackass didn't want Martz. Why is it Lovie gets a pass on this? If the guy you wanted and hired doesn't work, what does that say about your decision making.

I think I made myself pretty clear on that in my post. Firing Lovie and his staff as well would truly tear it all down for a rebuild and there's still enough talent on this team that doing that would be foolish this year. It's not so much Lovie getting a pass from me as it is my believing that the common sense approach is to get a turn around done in a series of steps without trashing everything.

Whether or not Martz was Lovie's idea isn't the point. In any case Martz wasn't the first choice of anyone but rather all they were left with late in the game when a half dozen others had already turned the Bears down. I think it was pretty obvious from the get go that Martz was a bad match as far as Lovies offensive philosophy was concerned. But Martz played it up as far as his willingness to adapt. He often said the right things but never did the right things or at least not long enough or consistently enough to make a difference. It was only when Cutler revolted that we finally knew for a fact just how unpopular Martz approach was but at least for this year were stuck with him.

There was no way Martz was coming back next year. We knew that over a month ago when the rumors of his interest in college jobs surfaced. Angelo's demise had nothing to do with it. Martz was at the tail end of the NFL "three strikes and you're out rule". You don't get an unlimited amount of opportunities to succeed as a coach or a player. In Martz's case following his "Greatest Show on Turf" success in St. Louis that was followed up by abject failures in Detroit and SF. That's the primary reason he wasn't on anyones A list. The Bears turn to him in desperation and he knows full well that if he fails here his NFL career was over and that's precisely what happened.

Lovie may have hired him but I think that was more out of necessity than it was desire. I don't think Martz was the guy Lovie wanted and furthermore I think Martz deceived Lovie into believing he'd adapt when he knew damn well he wouldn't. Didn't he say that exact same thing prior to the start of this season and then go right out right off the bat and do exactly what failed last year?

Lovie gets one year reprieve, not a pass. He has two strikes against him as well and I guarantee you that if this team goes 8-8 of worse next year the Bears will have a new coach in 2013. I saw Lovie turn the corner this year in the way he handled the team. He insisted on immediate accountability from his veteran players and wasn't afraid to sit them if they didn't produce as they needed to. He also made far better use of his challenges this year compared to the past and I won't hold him responsible for poor time management this year since in almost every instance those delays and early time outs originated from offensive miscommunication.

Not a pass yttocs, just a one year do it or else mandate. He gets some input into who the new GM will be because of this but trust me, if he doesn't bring home a winner next year then new GM is no longer under any restraint to keep him around.

Seriously, we dont have profound defensive schemes, and if Lovie is getting as much clout as the papers say, he could choose another shitty oc. Look at his records with assistants, we all know he's on par wih JA on draft pics. I DO like lovie, but no way in hell would i keep a lame duck who will be a bit of a threat to high talent GMs and OCs, in case the thing falters. More second rans will be interested in a job in which they are handcuffed.

Originally Posted by motownbear

That's what I'm worried about Henry. If lovie got his way he surrounds himself with yuppies that aren't a threat to him. And as far as player personnel shit there goes the offense taking a back seat to defense all over again. This guy is from the stone age the best teams have 4000 plus yard qbs and he wants to get off the bus running. Giants don't even do that anymore and Baltimore is trying to become that passing team. Other then 49ers we are doomed with this backwards thinking. He has to understand the new nfl

To me, there is nothing wrong with the philosophy of "getting off the bus, running." You can have your 4,000 yard a year guy and still rush for 2,000 yards at the same time. The best example of this is none other than the Houston Texans, who, when healthy, have Matt Schaub throwing all over the place as well as Arian Foster running up and over the competition weekly. We went to a Super Bowl five years ago based on a run-first approach and it nearly brought us home a World Championship.

I am reminded of something that the great Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes was quoted to have said back decades ago. It went like this: "Three things can happen when you pass the ball, and two of 'em are bad." Eli Manning, Drew Brees, and Matthew Stafford are interception machines in their high risk/reward offensive schemes. If a team can run the ball without fumbling it away on a consistent basis, they can set up the occasional playaction pass and carve up a secondary.