Lovie

[Lucky Luciano]

I think calling Buddy Ryan the best d-coordinator in history is a bit of a stretch. He was very good but he had some amazing talent under him. I would say Dick Lebeau may be someone you would have to consider for that title.

 

WOW, *buddy ryan is just very good? i have watched ryan's defenses nearly throughout his entire nfl career. in my opinion his approach and tactics changed how the modern nfl was played.

 

if you wanted to argue that **dick lebeau was one of if not the best secondary coach in modern NFL history i could not argue against that with much success. as DC i think he is a very good coach, but the best in NFL modern history? not a chance.

 

bud carson was also a very good DC and also deserves some kudo’s.

 

============================================

 

*JAMES BUDDY RYAN

 

NEW YORK JETS - With the AFL's Jets, his and Walt Michaels' defensive game plan was instrumental in holding the NFL's Baltimore Colts to seven points in Super Bowl III and earning Ryan his first Super Bowl ring. Seeing the emphasis that Weeb Ewbank placed on protecting Joe Namath and his fragile knees, Ryan created multiple blitz packages (i.e. the "59 blitz", the "Taco Bell blitz", and the "Cheeseburger blitz") reasoning that the quarterback is the focal point of any offense, and that a defense must attack the offense's strength and centerpiece.

 

ryan was the jets linebackers coach 1968-75.

 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS - 1976-77 - In the mid-1970s Ryan was defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings where he was integral in directing the team's dominating defense. The defensive unit known as the "Purple People Eaters", was heralded for the defensive line's ability to punish rivals. Their motto was to "meet at the quarterback." This unit helped the Vikings to post-season appearances from 1973 to 1978, including three appearances in the Super Bowl.

CHICAGO BEARS - 1978-85 - With the Bears, Ryan created the 46 defense, but it wasn't until 1982 that the scheme was perfected. This was due in large part because of Mike Singletary's ability to single-handedly dominate the middle of the field He became a household name of sorts in the mid-1980s.

certainly you can't argue his role in the bears quest for a superbowl? in my lifetime i don't ever remember such a dominating defense in the playoffs as we saw in 1985. to completely shutout all of your opponents in the playoffs is a feat i have never even heard of before. top that off as being argued as the best defense in the history of the modern nfl is nothing to sneeze about either.

 

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - Ultimately Ryan proved that his talent selection was superior to most of the NFL as he groomed play-makers like Andre Waters and Randall Cunningham and drafted Pro Bowlers Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, Jerome Brown, Eric Allen, Cris Carter, Fred Barnett, and Keith Jackson. His division crown prediction did not come to fruition in his initial Eagles season but quick rebuilding achieved title glory in 1988, as the team won 10 games and continued to win at least 10 games a season until his departure.

 

also of note... reggie white was drafted 1 year prior to ryan's arrival as head coach and was molded into the player he became by none other than buddy ryan. the eagles defense during this period was nearly as feared as the bears D of the 80’s.

 

HOUSTON OILERS - 1993 - The Ryan-led defense helped propel the Oilers to an 11-game winning streak to end the 1993 regular season, only to be upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

ryan at this time was the defensive coordinator for the oilers with jeff fisher an understudy having failed as a head coach in philly. in '94 ryan had an altercation (he jacked his jaw) with kevin gilbride. this ended per se’ his time in houston.

 

ARIZONA CARDINALS - After being given a large share of the credit for the success in Houston in 1993, he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 "On arriving in Phoenix, Buddy Ryan announced, 'You've got a winner in town.'"Also named general manager of the Cardinals, Ryan went 8-8 his first year, but had a 4-12 nosedive the following season, rife with criticism that he ran his two drafts poorly and mishandled Arizona's quarterback situation as a GM. He lasted only two seasons there— where he had a record of 12-20 — before being fired again. He would subsequently retire to his farm in Kentucky, where he breeds race horses.

 

by this time an aging ryan again tried the HC mantle and threw in GM with it hiring his sons as position coaches. it was clearly a mistake and led again to serious strife between his offensive and defensive players. this ended his career after only 2 seasons in arizona and he retired.

 

LEGACY - Ryan was an assistant on three different teams to make the Super Bowl (New York, Chicago, Minnesota). Ryan built his reputation as a defensive specialist and was largely credited with implementing and perfecting the 46 defense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Ryan

 

 

**DICK LEBEAU

 

CINCINNATI BENGLES – 1984-91 - in 1984 LeBeau was promoted to be the Bengals defensive coordinator. He did very well, rarely allowing over 30 points in a game to an opponent. In 1984, his first season as defensive coordinator, the Bengals dropped from the top ranked defense in 1983 (when they coordinated by Hank Bullough) to 13th in 1984 and allowed only 339 points all season. In 1985 they dropped from 13th to 22nd but Dick LeBeau's zone blitz scheme was doing very well. The next season, 1986, improved cutting points allowed to 394 and finishing as the 20th ranked defense in the NFL. In 1987 they did even better, cutting the points allowed to 370.

In 1988, the Bengals defense ranked 17th in the league, allowing 5,556 yards and 329 points during the regular season. Cincinnati had a superb defensive line, led by pro bowl defensive tackle Tim Krumrie, along with linemen Jim Skow (9.5 sacks), David Grant (5 sacks), and Jason Buck (6 sacks). Pro Bowl defensive backs Eric Thomas and David Fulcher (the world's biggest free safety) combined for 12 interceptions. The team ended up winning the AFC Central Division with a 12–4 record. Bengals lost Super Bowl XXIII against San Francisco 49ers for the second time in franchise history. The following season, 1989, the Bengals defense was 15th in the NFL, an improvement of 2 spots and were in the top half of NFL defenses due to LeBeau's scheme. In 1990 and 1991 the Bengals defense ranked 25th and 28th of 28 teams and the Bengals made a change in defensive coordinators.

 

in cinncy he never broke into the top 10 defensive units.

 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS – 1992-96 – LeBeau was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 as the secondary coach. In 1994, 4 defensive players were called to play in the 1995 Pro Bowl (Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson). As a secondary coach Lake and Woodson were heavily influenced by LeBeau.

In 1995 LeBeau was promoted to be the defensive coordinator and the 1995 Pittsburgh defense ranked third in the league in total yards allowed after they had finished as the second ranked defense in 1994 in that same category, so the drop off was minimal with LeBeau at the helm. They did allow 327 points in 1995 as opposed to 234 the year before when the Steelers defense was coordinated by Dom Capers, but they got to the Super Bowl in 1995 with a much improved offense. Pro Bowl linebacker Kevin Greene led the team with 9 sacks, while Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd led the team with 86 tackles. The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backs Carnell Lake and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. The Steelers lost against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, making it the third Super Bowl lost for him.

 

again was hired as a secondary coach under dom capers 92-94 and in 95 was promoted to DC.

 

CINNCINATI BENGALS – 1997-99 - In 1997 LeBeau took a lateral move as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals defense was 25th in 1996 and in his first year back with the Bengals they only dropped to 28th and allowed just over 400 points. In 1998 they didn't drop at all, remaining 28th in the NFL (of 30 teams) and allowed 452 points. In 1999 the zone blitz scheme began to take hold and although the Bengals defense allowed 460 points, they dropped to 25th on the NFL (out of now 31 teams) an improvement of 3 spots.

as DC in cinncinati he never was close to a top ten defense

 

HEAD COACH BENGALS – 2000-02 - Despite LeBeau's considerable defensive coaching talent, his head coaching stint was unsuccessful, and his teams finished 4-9, 6-10 and 2-14, respectively, in his three seasons. His overall record as a head coach stands at 12-33. In 2003 LeBeau was an assistant with the Buffalo Bills. LeBeau then went back to the Steelers in 2004.

similar to buddy ryan, the HC job seemed beyond him to become successful. of note: his defense while he was HC never reached the top 10 in any catagory.

 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS – 2004- present - As an assistant coach he is credited with inventing the "Fire Zone" or "zone blitz" defense, which employs unpredictable pass rushes and pass coverage from various players

 

has had good defenses during his tenure as DC in this period but it could also be noted that the steelers have had good+ D’s over the last 20 years.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_LeBeau

[GrizzlyBear]

First off, for all you to discount Martz and Lovie so quickly, Lets look at the facts. Bears offense was rated #1 in Rushing, #6 in Passing, and #3 in total offense. That was without a true Number 1 reciever or Line that could not keep Cutler up right.

 

Lovie's record is 54-46 including the playoffs with 4 wining seasons in 7 years.

Fisher record 142-120 in 17 years with 6 winning seasons.

 

Lovie will surpass that winning season mark for sure if stays head coach in Chicago.

 

Everyone including media dont like Lovie because of his personality is way to mellow for a chicago team. Granted there are decsions that can be questioned, But overall he has done a good job with the Bears. His players love him and want to play for him and Peppers went so far to say as it was his best season, most fun season in his career. That tells me alot. Changing a coach means rebuilding years, new D's and New O's. Martz and Lovie have done a good this season with the O. So much so they are in the top in the NFL in most categories. The D under Marinelli has played thier ass off for the most part, comming in at a very respectable #6 in total D.

 

I find it odd that most would not want to extend Lovie's contract. Another year in the O of Martz with upgrades in key areas mentioned here could put us number 1 in O. I guess what I am saying is, Why be so quick to turn things inside out and then wait again for another 3 to 4 years to get things moving when we already on the way there.

[madlithuanian]

grizz, I'm not sure where you are getting your stats...

 

1. Rushing, we were 22nd

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

2. Passing, we were 28th

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

3. Total Offense, we were 30th

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

I think I posted this in a nother thread, but most take fault with Smith's demeanor only as a subset of larger issues. Like poor game management, poor player development, bad challenging, etc...

 

I'm honestly not sure how you find it odd that so many have issue with extending Smith. He's currently under contract. If he s$%&s the bed this season, do you really want him guaranteed for 2-4 more years? If he doesn't, then you resign him then. Why the rush?

 

I think most are cautious and fear that we will return to what happened after the SB... This is why there isn't a averwhelming majority calmoring for extention right now.

 

First off, for all you to discount Martz and Lovie so quickly, Lets look at the facts. Bears offense was rated #1 in Rushing, #6 in Passing, and #3 in total offense. That was without a true Number 1 reciever or Line that could not keep Cutler up right.

 

Lovie's record is 54-46 including the playoffs with 4 wining seasons in 7 years.

Fisher record 142-120 in 17 years with 6 winning seasons.

 

Lovie will surpass that winning season mark for sure if stays head coach in Chicago.

 

Everyone including media dont like Lovie because of his personality is way to mellow for a chicago team. Granted there are decsions that can be questioned, But overall he has done a good job with the Bears. His players love him and want to play for him and Peppers went so far to say as it was his best season, most fun season in his career. That tells me alot. Changing a coach means rebuilding years, new D's and New O's. Martz and Lovie have done a good this season with the O. So much so they are in the top in the NFL in most categories. The D under Marinelli has played thier ass off for the most part, comming in at a very respectable #6 in total D.

 

I find it odd that most would not want to extend Lovie's contract. Another year in the O of Martz with upgrades in key areas mentioned here could put us number 1 in O. I guess what I am saying is, Why be so quick to turn things inside out and then wait again for another 3 to 4 years to get things moving when we already on the way there.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

grizz, I'm not sure where you are getting your stats...

 

1. Rushing, we were 22nd

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

2. Passing, we were 28th

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

3. Total Offense, we were 30th

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?arc...e&Submit=Go

 

I think I posted this in a nother thread, but most take fault with Smith's demeanor only as a subset of larger issues. Like poor game management, poor player development, bad challenging, etc...

 

I'm honestly not sure how you find it odd that so many have issue with extending Smith. He's currently under contract. If he s$%&s the bed this season, do you really want him guaranteed for 2-4 more years? If he doesn't, then you resign him then. Why the rush?

 

I think most are cautious and fear that we will return to what happened after the SB... This is why there isn't a averwhelming majority calmoring for extention right now.

Yeah I noticed after it was for the playoffs what I posted, Sorry bought that. As for records though it evident that Fisher is not all that and bag of chips. Lovie still had 4 winning seasons in 7 years Fisher is not answer and Iam morte then comfortable with Smith and the current staff with season under thier belt.

[madlithuanian]

Gotcha...

 

Fisher isn't all that and a bag of chips. Agreed. Maybe just all that... Or maybe just the bag of chips.

 

But nor is Smith. So, I think the wait and see approach is far more desirable than ponying up with no end in sight for 3-4 more years. Smith earned not to get fired this past season. let's take the next step next season. If he does well again, then he deserves an extention.

 

 

 

 

Yeah I noticed after it was for the playoffs what I posted, Sorry bought that. As for records though it evident that Fisher is not all that and bag of chips. Lovie still had 4 winning seasons in 7 years Fisher is not answer and Iam morte then comfortable with Smith and the current staff with season under thier belt.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

outside of Cowher , who else would you want as coach? Fisher has a less record then Lovie does in the same period of time. Both lost superbowls. So Mad with all that said who would you want? Or better yet who would be available to take helm.

[madlithuanian]

Cowher is the obvious choice......my plan is:

 

1. Let Smith coach out his final year. If he shows more of the good he showed this past season, then by all means, extend.

2. If not, then...

 

a. Cowher (I know, you said, other than him, but he's the one...)

b. Gruden

c. Fisher

d. Grimm

 

Just of the top of my head....

 

 

outside of Cowher , who else would you want as coach? Fisher has a less record then Lovie does in the same period of time. Both lost superbowls. So Mad with all that said who would you want? Or better yet who would be available to take helm.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

B thru D you can Keep. Cowher is only one i see that may fit, but I doubt he will be available by the time Lovies contract is up.

I can run up and down that list with reasons not to hire them. Cowher is only one.

[madlithuanian]

Understood.

 

B thru D you can Keep. Cowher is only one i see that may fit, but I doubt he will be available by the time Lovies contract is up.

I can run up and down that list with reasons not to hire them. Cowher is only one.

 

[Lucky Luciano]

First off, for all you to discount Martz and Lovie so quickly, Lets look at the facts. Bears offense was rated #1 in Rushing, #6 in Passing, and #3 in total offense. That was without a true Number 1 reciever or Line that could not keep Cutler up right.

 

judging a head coach who has been in charge of a team for 7 years is not discounting anything quickly.

 

as far as martz, in reality he came into this system with known flaws that no other franchise in the nfl would accept besides us. as it stands, i am not calling for martz’s *head at this time as i have seen adjustments and changes in philosophy (some certainly not soon enough though) in how he calls a game. i also understand the limitations he is forced to work with in regards to inferior offensive talent especially in our offensive line and receiving corp that no coach could overcome. this is one reason why he gets a bye for now and hope from him in our future.

 

that said, on whose shoulders do these limitations martz is working with fall on? without a doubt mamu the nonblocking whale, an extra lineman tight end he lobbied for, but who else?

 

how many years has it taken our head coach to understand just how bad this offensive line is/was?

 

2004 year 1: when lovie took over he had an offensive line of LT quasim mitchell, LG combo of ruben brown and metcalf, RG a combo of oft injured tucker, gandy and edwards. the only good and consistant linemen were RT tait and C kreutz. throw in WR’s d. terrel and tate.

 

2005 year 2: we move a pro-bowl caliber RT to play average at LT, at LG we continue with the aging stop gap r. brown and bring in an average at best LG utility replacement, garza, who has serious knee problems, RG we start the mighty metcalf, and bring in a stop gap end-of-career RT in f. miller to replace a very good RT in tait. we now have moose, m. bradley, barrian and j. gage as our WR corp.

 

2006 year 3: LT is tait a waste of talent at this position, LG near the end of the line r. brown, RG - exit horrible metcalf and plug in garza (who played LG) to a new position he never played before, enter stop-gap RT dinosaur f. miller. moose and barrian as our WR corp.

 

2007 year 4: LT is tait a very highly paid aging very good RT is still playing average and out of position, old and injured LG r. brown is sharing starts with the mighty metcalf and a utility RIGHT TACKLE st. clair who has never played on the left side let alone guard (it appears none of our reserves including 4th rd. pick beekman is better than a one armed brown), RG is still our new to the right side average garza, RT is still grandfather head case f. miller whose skills are becoming non-existant.

 

2008 year 5: LT is st. clair a right tackle we moved to left guard in 2007 who has never played left tackle (while our #1 pick for LT c. williams is on IR from a known back condition), beekman a 2nd year RIGHT guard is plugged in at LG, garza, a LG, is still starting starting at RG, RT tait is moved back to his original position we aquired him for except by now he is too old to do the job. we now sport the mighty WR set of – r. davis, d. hester, brandon lloyd, and an over the hill marty booker.

 

2009 year 6: LT is o. pace and when he sucks we move c. williams to LT, LG - is frank ohmy who played in 1 game in 2 years in atlanta before being waived. and played in 2 games at LT in carolina because of injury to a regular starter (this a guy angie gave a $14mil contract to), RG is garza, RT is our #1 draft pick c. williams a LT we now start at RT in his rookie debut. williams later replaces an injured waste of o. pace at LT and is replaced at RT by shaffer. WR set of – knox, hester, and bennet.

 

2010 year 7: LT is frank ohmy who failed miserably at left guard, LG is c. williams our #1 pick left tackle whose play is bad to say the least, RG is an average garza who is spelled by l. louis an ’09 7th round pick because of injury, RT is web a 7th round rookie. our WR set is knox and hester and throw in bennet.

 

the menageri of the mess above is even beyond keystone cops confused comedy and if a defensive minded HC couldn’t see problems with that talent he has serious problems. our troubles have been obvious even to novices of the game since tait, miller and ruben brown.

 

Lovie’s record is 54-46 including the playoffs with 4 wining seasons in 7 years.

Fisher record 142-120 in 17 years with 6 winning seasons.

Lovie will surpass that winning season mark for sure if stays head coach in Chicago.

 

there are many more things involved in the quality of a coach than win/loss records. how well does he coach the players he is forced to field. do players develope better under him and his staff? can he adjust his scheme and philosophies to the personnel he is forced to field do to free agency, injuries or poor draft choices? these are just some of the important questions that need answers when judging the merits of coaching talent.

 

in my opinion, lovie will not or is incapable of changing anything no matter who he is forced to play. i also don’t see players under him getting better and in many instances are played out of position.

 

Everyone including media dont like Lovie because of his personality is way to mellow for a chicago team. Granted there are decsions that can be questioned, But overall he has done a good job with the Bears. His players love him and want to play for him and Peppers went so far to say as it was his best season, most fun season in his career. That tells me alot. Changing a coach means rebuilding years, new D’s and New O’s. Martz and Lovie have done a good this season with the O. So much so they are in the top in the NFL in most categories. The D under Marinelli has played thier ass off for the most part, comming in at a very respectable #6 in total D.

 

1. in my opinion he has NOT “overall done a good job with the bears”. i really can’t think of any player who has become better because of lovie’s coaching. even d. manning who supposedly was under lovie’s wing last season showed little or no improvement.

 

2. his “mellow” sideline demeaner means nothing to me. what does mean a lot to me is a coach who is involved gameday to work with his coaching staff and players to address tactics, problems and performance that arise during a game and NOT necessarily waiting until halftime or the next tuesday to do so. i don’t see it in lovie. unless someone that attends games is seeing more than what they show lovie doing on the sidelines it appears to me he is in observer mode without much input. i rarely or never see him discussing tactics or performance with any coordinators OR players on the sideline when something is clearly not working.

 

i also want to mention that lovie’s gameday “decisions” are not only questionable but horrible in my opinion. his use of the clock, especially within the 2 min. warning, is plain terrible. his timeouts called are inconsistant and untimely. his challenges quite frankly challenges the mind as to why he does or doesn’t throw a flag which again falls into the timeout catagory. even being a defensive minded coach shouldn’t he be getting his OC to focus on getting the plays in in a timely manner instead of burning timeouts needlessly as we have seen for years? these items alone are very meaningful on gameday and should not be as difficult as this team makes them.

 

3. whether or not players love playing for him is really not a concern. if it was, dick jauron would still be coaching in chicago.

 

4. to rebuild or not to rebuild, that is the question... doesn’t it come down to the overall body of work whether you want to replace a coaching staff? does he hold his players accountable? does he hold his coaching staff accountable? where has the improvement or lack thereof come from? how long did it take to impliment needed changes? how did our head coaches decisions effect not only the results we see now but results in the past and the future direction of this team?

 

the reality is our head coach has done a poor job managing even the portion of this team he supposedly knows best which is defense. he has fired one good coordinator and hired an incompetant crony in babich to take over. it then took him TWO YEARS to demote him when the world could see the failure after 2 months! he then proceeded to place himself in position as DC in which his entire concept of a defense was solely on his shoulders and this philosophy again failed. instead of maybe changing tactics or the way his defenses are run he again hires another crony to replace himself who is basically a mirror image. this results in the same weaknesses we witnessed the day he arrived in chicago without any real hope for change.

 

 

I find it odd that most would not want to extend Lovie’s contract. Another year in the O of Martz with upgrades in key areas mentioned here could put us number 1 in O. I guess what I am saying is, Why be so quick to turn things inside out and then wait again for another 3 to 4 years to get things moving when we already on the way there.

 

myself, i find it extremely odd that anyone would want to extend his contract when it is not necessary. wasn’t extending wanny and jauron a lesson learned? also...

 

i don’t believe after watching this team under lovie’s control for 7 years is a quick, snap decision. am i saying just fire him without any consideration for who is going to fill his shoes? no. but, if there were a better coach out there we COULD hire then the answer is yes (we should have replaced everyone last january and we could have saved ourselves another 3-8 years of failure.

 

you mention we will have another 3-4 year wait under a new regime. maybe so, but if it is a *better coach isn’t it worth it to do it now instead of wasting another 3+ years of a lovie extension PLUS the 3-4 years you say it will take us to get up to speed? aren’t we ahead by nearly a decade to cut bait now instead of later?

 

doesn’t keeping lovie in the fold also mean we have the ‘if they are going to fire me next year i will just say i am retiring’, jerry angelo one of the worst gm’s maybe in the history of pro football to look forward to while lovie burns up yet another contract extension? don’t we continue in the ted phillips reign to nowhere?

 

where else but chicago do we reward failure with job security, raises and extensions?

 

*many don’t agree with me but i will state jeff fisher is better, bill cowher is better and shanny was/is better, just off the top of my head.

 

 

NOTE: sorry for the bit of delay on the reply to your post. it's a slow time of year and i just got busy with other stuff and worked on this off and on for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[madlithuanian]

Lucky,

 

That was a fantastic detailed view of your take on this... I pretty much agree with just about everything you mention.

 

 

judging a head coach who has been in charge of a team for 7 years is not discounting anything quickly.

 

as far as martz, in reality he came into this system with known flaws that no other franchise in the nfl would accept besides us. as it stands, i am not calling for martz’s *head at this time as i have seen adjustments and changes in philosophy (some certainly not soon enough though) in how he calls a game. i also understand the limitations he is forced to work with in regards to inferior offensive talent especially in our offensive line and receiving corp that no coach could overcome. this is one reason why he gets a bye for now and hope from him in our future.

 

that said, on whose shoulders do these limitations martz is working with fall on? without a doubt mamu the nonblocking whale, an extra lineman tight end he lobbied for, but who else?

 

how many years has it taken our head coach to understand just how bad this offensive line is/was?

 

2004 year 1: when lovie took over he had an offensive line of LT quasim mitchell, LG combo of ruben brown and metcalf, RG a combo of oft injured tucker, gandy and edwards. the only good and consistant linemen were RT tait and C kreutz. throw in WR’s d. terrel and tate.

 

2005 year 2: we move a pro-bowl caliber RT to play average at LT, at LG we continue with the aging stop gap r. brown and bring in an average at best LG utility replacement, garza, who has serious knee problems, RG we start the mighty metcalf, and bring in a stop gap end-of-career RT in f. miller to replace a very good RT in tait. we now have moose, m. bradley, barrian and j. gage as our WR corp.

 

2006 year 3: LT is tait a waste of talent at this position, LG near the end of the line r. brown, RG - exit horrible metcalf and plug in garza (who played LG) to a new position he never played before, enter stop-gap RT dinosaur f. miller. moose and barrian as our WR corp.

 

2007 year 4: LT is tait a very highly paid aging very good RT is still playing average and out of position, old and injured LG r. brown is sharing starts with the mighty metcalf and a utility RIGHT TACKLE st. clair who has never played on the left side let alone guard (it appears none of our reserves including 4th rd. pick beekman is better than a one armed brown), RG is still our new to the right side average garza, RT is still grandfather head case f. miller whose skills are becoming non-existant.

 

2008 year 5: LT is st. clair a right tackle we moved to left guard in 2007 who has never played left tackle (while our #1 pick for LT c. williams is on IR from a known back condition), beekman a 2nd year RIGHT guard is plugged in at LG, garza, a LG, is still starting starting at RG, RT tait is moved back to his original position we aquired him for except by now he is too old to do the job. we now sport the mighty WR set of – r. davis, d. hester, brandon lloyd, and an over the hill marty booker.

 

2009 year 6: LT is o. pace and when he sucks we move c. williams to LT, LG - is frank ohmy who played in 1 game in 2 years in atlanta before being waived. and played in 2 games at LT in carolina because of injury to a regular starter (this a guy angie gave a $14mil contract to), RG is garza, RT is our #1 draft pick c. williams a LT we now start at RT in his rookie debut. williams later replaces an injured waste of o. pace at LT and is replaced at RT by shaffer. WR set of – knox, hester, and bennet.

 

2010 year 7: LT is frank ohmy who failed miserably at left guard, LG is c. williams our #1 pick left tackle whose play is bad to say the least, RG is an average garza who is spelled by l. louis an ’09 7th round pick because of injury, RT is web a 7th round rookie. our WR set is knox and hester and throw in bennet.

 

the menageri of the mess above is even beyond keystone cops confused comedy and if a defensive minded HC couldn’t see problems with that talent he has serious problems. our troubles have been obvious even to novices of the game since tait, miller and ruben brown.

 

 

 

there are many more things involved in the quality of a coach than win/loss records. how well does he coach the players he is forced to field. do players develope better under him and his staff? can he adjust his scheme and philosophies to the personnel he is forced to field do to free agency, injuries or poor draft choices? these are just some of the important questions that need answers when judging the merits of coaching talent.

 

in my opinion, lovie will not or is incapable of changing anything no matter who he is forced to play. i also don’t see players under him getting better and in many instances are played out of position.

 

 

 

1. in my opinion he has NOT “overall done a good job with the bears”. i really can’t think of any player who has become better because of lovie’s coaching. even d. manning who supposedly was under lovie’s wing last season showed little or no improvement.

 

2. his “mellow” sideline demeaner means nothing to me. what does mean a lot to me is a coach who is involved gameday to work with his coaching staff and players to address tactics, problems and performance that arise during a game and NOT necessarily waiting until halftime or the next tuesday to do so. i don’t see it in lovie. unless someone that attends games is seeing more than what they show lovie doing on the sidelines it appears to me he is in observer mode without much input. i rarely or never see him discussing tactics or performance with any coordinators OR players on the sideline when something is clearly not working.

 

i also want to mention that lovie’s gameday “decisions” are not only questionable but horrible in my opinion. his use of the clock, especially within the 2 min. warning, is plain terrible. his timeouts called are inconsistant and untimely. his challenges quite frankly challenges the mind as to why he does or doesn’t throw a flag which again falls into the timeout catagory. even being a defensive minded coach shouldn’t he be getting his OC to focus on getting the plays in in a timely manner instead of burning timeouts needlessly as we have seen for years? these items alone are very meaningful on gameday and should not be as difficult as this team makes them.

 

3. whether or not players love playing for him is really not a concern. if it was, dick jauron would still be coaching in chicago.

 

4. to rebuild or not to rebuild, that is the question... doesn’t it come down to the overall body of work whether you want to replace a coaching staff? does he hold his players accountable? does he hold his coaching staff accountable? where has the improvement or lack thereof come from? how long did it take to impliment needed changes? how did our head coaches decisions effect not only the results we see now but results in the past and the future direction of this team?

 

the reality is our head coach has done a poor job managing even the portion of this team he supposedly knows best which is defense. he has fired one good coordinator and hired an incompetant crony in babich to take over. it then took him TWO YEARS to demote him when the world could see the failure after 2 months! he then proceeded to place himself in position as DC in which his entire concept of a defense was solely on his shoulders and this philosophy again failed. instead of maybe changing tactics or the way his defenses are run he again hires another crony to replace himself who is basically a mirror image. this results in the same weaknesses we witnessed the day he arrived in chicago without any real hope for change.

 

 

 

 

myself, i find it extremely odd that anyone would want to extend his contract when it is not necessary. wasn’t extending wanny and jauron a lesson learned? also...

 

i don’t believe after watching this team under lovie’s control for 7 years is a quick, snap decision. am i saying just fire him without any consideration for who is going to fill his shoes? no. but, if there were a better coach out there we COULD hire then the answer is yes (we should have replaced everyone last january and we could have saved ourselves another 3-8 years of failure.

 

you mention we will have another 3-4 year wait under a new regime. maybe so, but if it is a *better coach isn’t it worth it to do it now instead of wasting another 3+ years of a lovie extension PLUS the 3-4 years you say it will take us to get up to speed? aren’t we ahead by nearly a decade to cut bait now instead of later?

 

doesn’t keeping lovie in the fold also mean we have the ‘if they are going to fire me next year i will just say i am retiring’, jerry angelo one of the worst gm’s maybe in the history of pro football to look forward to while lovie burns up yet another contract extension? don’t we continue in the ted phillips reign to nowhere?

 

where else but chicago do we reward failure with job security, raises and extensions?

 

*many don’t agree with me but i will state jeff fisher is better, bill cowher is better and shanny was/is better, just off the top of my head.

 

 

NOTE: sorry for the bit of delay on the reply to your post. it's a slow time of year and i just got busy with other stuff and worked on this off and on for a while.