Tag / George Halas

by admin

RIP Coach Ditka

Former Bears coach and Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka passed away this morning at the age of 86.  Ditka, who spent 17 seasons with the Bears, six as a player and eleven as head coach, is one of only two people to win a Super Bowl as both a player, assistant coach, and head coach and one of only four in the NFL’s modern era to win a championship coaching a team for which they played.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Ditka was drafted by the Bears in 1961, winning Rookie of the Year honors after becoming the first tight end in history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.  He was a member of the franchise’s 1963 NFL Championship team before being traded to the Eagles due to a contract dispute with George Halas.  Inducted to Canton in 1988, he was the first tight end enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After his playing career, he became an assistant coach with the Cowboys under Tom Landry.  Letting bygones be bygones, he was hired by Halas in 1982 to take the top spot with the Bears.  Ditka led the team to the playoffs seven times during his eleven-season run, reaching the NFC Championship Game on three occasions.  In 1985, the Bears cruised to a 15-1 regular season record before easily defeating the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.

He became an icon in Chicago, opening several restaurants and endorsing a long list of products, including wine, cigars and sausages.  He starred in television commercials and appeared, as himself, in several television shows and in Will Ferrell’s 2005 comedy Kicking and Screaming.  He was immortalized on Saturday Night Live in their series of Superfans sketches that paid tribute to Ditka and “Da Bears.”

by admin

RIP Buddy

BuddyRyanBearsFormer Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who developed the ’46’ defense that helped the team win their only Super Bowl title, died yesterday at the age of 85.  Ryan was hired by the Bears in 1978 and was kept on board when Mike Ditka became head coach in 1982 after defensive players wrote to owner George Halas showing support.  The relationship between Ryan and Ditka eventually broke down, culminating in a halftime skirmish during the team’s only loss of the 1985 season against the Dolphins.

The night before the Super Bowl, Ryan informed his defense that he would be leaving to coach the Eagles, leading to him being carried off the field after the Super Bowl victory along with Ditka.  After leaving for the Eagles, Ryan had little interaction with Chicago or the Bears.  He appeared in a 30 for 30 special on the Super Bowl winning team last year, visibly weakened after a long battle with cancer.

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.