Tag / Lovie Smith

by admin

Another One Bites The Dust

lance-briggsFor the third straight off-season, the Bears have told a long tenured fan favorite that his time with the team has come to an end.  Lance Briggs, who was drafted by the Bears in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft, became a starter his rookie season and was been one of the anchors of the vaunted defense under former coach Lovie Smith.  Over the past seasons, under new (and now former) coach Marc Trestman, Briggs has appeared in just over half of the Bears’ games due to injury.

Briggs announced last November that his time in Chicago was likely winding down and sources close to the Bears reported this week that Briggs was officially informed that he will not be offered a contract for the upcoming 2015 season.  With a new coaching staff and new defensive scheme coming in, Briggs was thought to be a poor fit.

The 7-time Pro Bowler finishes his Bears career with the fifth-most games played and the second-most tackles in franchise history.  He may find himself in the same situation Brian Urlacher did 2 years ago: looking for work and forced to retire before he was really ready.

by jim

Fire Lovie?

A month ago, things were looking bright at Halas Hall.  The Bears had started 7-1 and looked to be running away with the NFC North.  4 weeks later, they are now 8-4 and are 10 minutes and 14 points away from 8-5.  The late season fade has been a recurring theme in the later seasons of the Lovie Smith era, and the Bears are still looking for their first December win since 2010.  Is it time for the Lovie era to come to an end?

Smith has been coach of the Bears since 2004 and is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NFL.  His early success, including a Super Bowl trip following the 2006 season, has given way to more recent mediocrity, as they have made the playoffs only once since losing that Super Bowl.

There are plenty of excuses as to why the Bears have lost (or about to have lost) 4 out of their last 5 games.  The offensive line, a patchwork of bad retreads on its best day, has been decimated by injuries.  The defense, which was outscoring many offenses in the early part of the season, has started to show its age and is now without Brian Urlacher for perhaps the remainder of the season.  Other teams, however, lose key personnel and are able to recover.  For the Bears, the trend has been to fall apart at the first sign of adversity.

If the Bears fail to win a playoff game for the 5th time in the last 6 seasons, I don’t see how you don’t make a change.  Smith already has more coaching wins with the Bears than anybody not named Halas or Ditka, so it will not be an easy call to make.  Smith is also beloved by the McCaskey family, which will make it even harder.  But the window to win with the aging defense is closing fast and it may take some new blood on the sidelines to make it happen.