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* The setup, from David Haugh…

As a public service to save the next fed-up Bears fan from picking up the phone or clicking “Send,” please remember that Lovie Smith has two years and about $11 million left on his contract after this season.

So unless Virginia McCaskey adopts Daniel Snyder into the family, the Bears aren’t likely to pay Smith a fortune to go away and open the vault for a $6 million-a-year replacement such as Bill Cowher or either of the two Mikes, Holmgren or Shanahan.

That means, like Bono and U2, you can expect Smith back at Soldier Field in 2010, barring a Bears implosion that seems implausible. Only six games into a season that has gone terribly wrong, that doesn’t seem like a radical idea for the NFC’s second-winningest head coach since 2005. Not even after a 45-10 loss to the Bengals.

I know this is mostly a state politics/baseball blog, but let’s try something a little different today…

* The Question: Should Lovie Smith be fired? Explain fully, please.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:06 pm

Comments

No, but if anyone should be fired I would argue for Ron Turner. Seems like running backs, receivers and quarterbacks that leave Chicago for another team end up doing much better. Leads me to believe it could be the offensive coach.

Comment by Nuance Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:14 pm
No-but he shouldn’t be calling the plays…let the offensive/defensive coaches do their job…

also, they shouldn’t have traded Benson, even if he was high maintenance…

Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:14 pm
If he produced Andy McKenna’s new campaign video the answer is yes.

Comment by Speaking at Will Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:14 pm
Over one game? Ridiculous!
This is the city that re-elected Blagojevich! This is the city where the Chicago Cubs “play”. Smith took responsibility for the huge loss on Sunday, which is a whole lot more mature than the forever finger pointing we get from our politicians.

He’s cheaper than Quinn, but takes responsibility. I’d say he’s ready for politics!

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:16 pm
Only if they can sign Jeff Fischer to replace him. And the way things are going with the Titans, he should be available.

I like Lovie, but he drives me crazy. He keeps his poker face on tight, preventing us from really knowing if he is the doofus calling a seven yard pass on 3rd and nine or if that’s Turner making another dumb call, or maybe it’s the check down from Cutler. Frankly, I don’t care whose decision it is: when you need 9 yards, through the ball 9 yards!

It could be the players, it could be the scheme. Cedric Benson said the running scheme of the Bengals is much easier for backs, which explains in part why he is doing so well there when he couldn’t run here.

Injuries are hurting the defense, but it was Lovie who brought in Marinelli to fix the line. He ought to be accountable for the lack of production.

Final thought: if Lovie goes, they should send Jerry Angelo with him. Clean break, start over, build the team around Cutler. Declare the end of the Urlacher era and let’s all move on.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:18 pm
Lovie Smith should be fired at the end of the year only if the Bears don’t break even at the end of the year or have more wins than losses. He’s been coach for a while now and while the Super Bowl year was a fluke (the NFC division was weak that year) he hasn’t been as stellar of a coach as he should be.

LOL!!!! Some of you are too funny.

@ Anonymous45, yeah right you weren’t piling on an trashing cedric while he was here???????

@vanillaman, one game????????????????????????

@47thward, I agree Urlacher was/is overrated. The comparisons to Mike Singletary were beyond ridiculous.

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:27 pm
Absolutely. Lovie is like Wanny — he brings in a system, and forces his players into it, whether their skills and talent are appropriate for it or not. There’s no way the Bears should run a Cover-2 base defense — they don’t have the players for it.

Great coaches, like Parcells and Bellichick, create a system based on the players they have. That’s why they’re successful year in and year out.

I’d love to get Shanahan, the pride of Franklin Park and Eastern Illinois. He could bring his old college roommate, Mike Heimerdinger of DeKalb, as offensive coordinator.

It’ll never happen. The McCaskeys have about sixty kids on the Bears payroll — and coaches salaries come off the top. They’ll never pay Lovie not to coach.

Having said that, coaching had nothing to do with the Bengals loss. The Bears got beaten up on the offensive and defensive lines. It was a mano-a-mano whupping.

When that happens, it doesn’t matter who the coaches are, or their systems.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:37 pm
I heard a rumor that the Mccaskey family is trying to get the Illinois Finance Authority to buy out Lovie’s contract so it won’t cost the team anything.

Comment by Don't Worry, Be Happy Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:38 pm
much of the burden for this team has to fall on the shoulders on Jerry Angelo…so much cap space not being used to fill the obvious holes, plus his demand that Frank O. start over Josh Beekman, who clearly won the job in camp

Comment by Kane Conservative Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:44 pm
If the Bears don’t want him, please send him back to St. Louis.

Comment by Red Bird fan Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:44 pm
Yes. Lovie seems like a good, decent guy, but it’s time for him to go. Chicago sports is like Chicago politics in one way more than all others: strong, commanding leaders cut it, the quiet and reserved don’t. Can you imagine a post-game news conference with Parcells following Sunday’s joke of a performance? Lovie’s explanation that “we had a bad day at the office,” is representative of the low-intensity public persona that, it would seem, has let the pressure of playing in a Tier 1 sports market escape his players. When the Patriots blew their perfect season against the Giants, don’t believe for one second that Belichick didn’t make them feel the heat of that loss (and the mistakes that caused it). The Bears (like IL) need a new, strong, forceful leader to start fresh.

Comment by Watching closely Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:45 pm
Urlacher was overrated but they do miss him badly in pass defense. That gaping hole in the middle where Ochocinco caught however many passes is what #54 covered.

If the Bears miss the playoffs this year and 2010 then fire Smith. He should be “encouraged” to dump Ron Turner.

Comment by Independent Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:45 pm
How in the world did the Chicago Bears, Monsters of the Midway, Black and Blue Division, end up with a coach named “Lovie” anyway?

Real Bears have names like Nagurski, Ditka and Butkus, not the wife of the rich guy on Gilligan’s Island.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:45 pm
He should not be fired today, but plans should start to be organized for a transition if there is no progress by year’s end. The hiring of Rod Maranelli seems like a clarion call of mediocracy at best.

As usual I believe it is always a mistake to extend a contract to early in the process. Hmm didn’t the QB’s contract just get extended early…..?

Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:49 pm
he has the 2nd most wins in the nfc since 2005 trailing only tom coughlin in new york. 2 of these games they’ve lost were winnable and when you lose your top 2 defenders (urlacher, harris) you have issues.

this is a much better bear team and organization than the monsters of mediocrity that we saw from 1992-2003.

he can stay, his owner, mckenna, can leave.

Comment by shore Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:53 pm
Yes and so should Ron Zook, but the sweet contract seem to make that impossible. If the Bears must keep Smith Turner must go. Get a real offensive coordinator.

Comment by Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:54 pm
So, the Bears are 3-3 after going through the toughest part of their schedule with a new quarterback at the helm. Their three losses are to Green Bay (4-2), Atlanta (4-2) and Cincinnati (5-2).

Looking at the schedule ahead, the Bears have about 4 guaranteed wins (Cleveland, San Fran, St. Louis, Detroit). That means they have a baseline of a 7-9 season at this point.

If they finish worse than that - then an argument can be made to shake things up.

But it isn’t unrealistic to see the Bears finish 9-7 or 10-6 and make the playoffs.

And really, that is where we expect the Bears to be each year.

Comment by George Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:56 pm
“this is a much better bear team and organization than the monsters of mediocrity that we saw from 1992-2003″

Umm, didn’t they go 13-3 in 2001?

Comment by George Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 12:57 pm
No, the Bears have had a freakish adventure in Cincy, but should rebound Sunday. Not a great team, but some young talent to build around Cutler, who remains the biggest ? of all.

Comment by downstate hick Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:00 pm
no, i don’t think lovie should be fired. the bears’ problems are numerous, and they start at the top. which isn’t the coach. the bears’ organization is pathetic AS A SPORTS FRANCHISE. as a money-making venture, i suspect they are doing quite nicely. chicago is the city ready to do business, and you can surely tell by the way they run their sports’ franchises. i understand that the fans want to see championships, but that doesn’t seem to effect the bottom line, so i’d question whether the franchises themselves really care.

the other legacy problem that the bears have is that they (as a franchise) are wedded to a style of play that is no longer that effective in the modern era. everybody knows that the bears want to run the ball. how hard can it be to prepare for that? it should be no surprise that running backs leave the bears and pile up yards elsewhere. they are playing for teams where there might be some question whether they will run or pass on every down.

the bears simply do not have a balanced approach to anything. that is not lovie smith’s fault. he should not bare the burden of the franchise’s many problems…

Comment by bored now Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:00 pm
No. Keep him around.

Remember, next year is going to be an uncapped year, and maybe a lockout year following. Everything is going to be up for grabs, and the last thing the Bears need is additional sunk costs for the remaining 2 years of Lovie’s deal. Particularly if it is in the last year of the deal, the season turns into a lockout - because Lovie got terminated with 2 years to go, he’s on the payroll for sure for the final year when there’s most likely no money coming in.

Possibly a reason that Jerry Angelo traded both next year’s 1st & 2nd round picks is that next year is “uncapped”, so think of the draft implications of that. You could easily see top-15 1st round picks wanting the types of deals that Jay Cutler just got as an extension.

The O-Line and secondary need an infusion of talent. And Beekman needs to play - last year he was always overlooked, but he always seemed to get the job done for being undersized.

Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:12 pm
There are a bunch of cry-babies on here. Lovie Smith should not be fired. As was stated somewhere above, the offensive and defensive lines are getting beat. That’s why the running game is stuck in neutral and Cutler has to throw passes withing 2 seconds or he’s hit. The D line is not much better. The team needs an on field leader with the heart of a lion.

Comment by RobRoy Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:13 pm
If he does not make the playoffs for a third straight year, yes. If he makes the playoffs no.

If they do make the playoffs Turner should be looked at. I’ve been very unimpressed with his game planes. He is unimaginative and can’t score in the first quarter. It’s almost as if the game has passed him by. I think a lot of the difficulties with the o-line can be blamed on him. They have talent; they don’t have a good scheme.

Comment by ahoy Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:18 pm
@ WCW: Cedric was a public relations nightmare and morale sapper when he was here, but I never doubted his potential on the field…HEY! We’re arguing about the Bears instead of Quinn vs. Hynes!

Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:21 pm
No.
It wasn’t Lovie that signed Garrett Wolfe with a third round pick.
It wasn’t Lovie who assembled this O-Line.
It wasn’t Lovie who refuses to even look at Free Agent receivers.
It wasn’t Lovie who hired Ron Turner.
It wasn’t Lovie who caved into d-bag Brian Urlacher’s demand for more money.
It wasn’t Lovie who dumped Thomas Jones.

The only questionable non-game move that Lovie participated in was converting Hester into a receiver. And frankly, I’m not sure who is actually responsible for it. Lovie is not the problem.

Comment by Cosmic Charlie Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:26 pm
I blame much of the current woes on the coaching, but the business side of the sport requires him to stick around. There’s no way the Bears are eating $11 million.

The Bears defense was completely befuddled by the no-huddle offense thrown at them 2 games ago by the Falcons. Then they come out and play like hungover Cub fans against the Bengals. It is the coaches’ responsibility to have the team prepared for the game. You can’t get 47 millionaires to motivate and focus themselves. It’s on Lovie’s head. I appreciate him taking the blame since he should have. This goes beyond personnel and talent to coaching and preparation.

Comment by Lefty Lefty Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:40 pm
@ Anonymous45, I think Cedric Benson was misundertood, and I’ve always thought that. I didn’t like the way Chicago Bear fans tore him down.

I don’t want/mean to suggest that the coaches should have coddled him, but I think they should have worked with him to help him overcome some of his issues on the field. I didn’t see where they tried to help him all that much. It seemed like they left him out there to hang. I love the fact that he’s doing better someplace else, but that I hate that he did so well against the Bears. Nevertheless his story is a good motivational tool because it just illustrates that if one wants to he or she can can move on and do better.

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:50 pm
@WCW: I have to sit down…I totally agree with you…a little mentoring was necssary, and they just wagged their finger at him…looks like he overcame his issues…good for him…bad for opponents…

Comment by Anonymous45 Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 1:53 pm
No. Going 3-3 with this team is not that bad. Nobody that they could bring in would do any better. Lovie has made some big mistakes. Changing Hester from a game breaker into a mediocre wide out is the most obvious.
Benson was a bum and I’m glad he is not here. He’ll eventually revert to form. The Bears still have a slight chance to make the playoffs in order to get creamed in the first round. There is nothing wrong with this team that decent receivers, a secondary, good lines, and a couple of average linebackers wouldn’t cure.

Comment by Bill Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 2:01 pm
there’s something going on with the Bears, linked to the Tommie Harris non-play on Sunday — I think that his teammates did a bit of a “players’ strike or sitdown” related to veteran players having to go all out in practices.

The worst thing about the current Bears is their offensive line. I love their center, but he’s too old and too small. This is damaging their running game.

Everyone agrees the Bears stink at drafting top players. Their research is much better at finding players at the 4th round and lower. So just as the coaching schemes should reflect the personnel that they have, the front office should trade top draft positions for experienced performers and draft only in the later rounds.

Comment by Capitol View Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 2:45 pm
Some coaches are GREAT coordinators, but it doesn’t always translate to the makings of a great head coach. Think Wanny, Norv Turner, Dick LeBeau. Maybe Lovie falls into this category. Many fans and players like a commanding presence as their head coach. Lovie is never going to be the presence that a Belichick, Shanahan, Gruden, or DITKA brings to a team. He’s just not that personality. Even some of the “newer” head coaches (Ryan, Tomlin, Wisenhunt and Singletary) have a presence about them that garners respect of the players and fans.
That said, I don’t think you fire him this year. I hope that the Bears get some O’line help and a big play receiver to go with their big play QB/face of the franchise in 2010.

Comment by Baltimoron Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 2:45 pm
I’m not sure Lovie is the problem. He doesn’t necessarily help, but he’s not the core problem.

The problem, as I see it, is Jerry Angelo. He’s responsible for assembling the mediocre talent on the team right now.

Angelo’s first draft with the Bears was 2001. Since then, these are the players currently on the roster drafted in the first three rounds: Tillman, Briggs, Harris, Manning, Hester, Dvoracek, Olson, Wolfe, Williams, Forte, Bennet, Gilbert and Iglesias. Thirteen players from the first three rounds in NINE drafts. Horrible.

Aside from a couple, there’s also no real impact players left with the Bears in that group, and the first three rounds is generally where you find impact players cheap. Angelo’s “gift” for talent really isn’t all that great.

That said, I think there is something wrong with player development and/or scheme as well. Too many players move on and become better. You really do have to hang that one on Lovie and the coaches.

If they finish out of the playoffs, everyone, from GM on down should be swept out.

Comment by Spitting Out My Coffee Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 2:57 pm
I agree with most of what my friend 47 says, except for the “I like Lovie” part.

No he doesn’t deserve to be fired. But I was glad to see him accept responsibility for that loss. It was just awful and not what I expect from this team.

I can live with close loses to the Packers and Falcons, but that game in Cinci was awful.

Cosmic Charlie makes a good point. Letting Thomas Jones go was a big mistake.

Anyone who says that Cedric Benson taught the Bears a lesson this week doesn’t remember how badly he ran the ball when he was here. I’ve never seen a more lethargic unmotivated player than Cedric Benson in a Bears uniform. yes, he spanked us good on Sunday but he was not the same player when he was here - scheme schmeme I say.

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 3:04 pm
Ok Ok….have you not looked where Ron Turner…take a look at what he left behind him..a 1 game winner in College Football. That right there should tell you that Turner can and is the problem. Lovie is a great Defensive caliber team…Losing Urlacher is like losing your cartalidge in you knee…He keeps everyone together and tells them what then need to do/where they need to be. There defense is obviously not the same HINT’s the Urlacher injury.

Yes the defense can not prevent cutler from throwing 3 or 4 INT’s, but look at FORTE’s (running back) this year….SLUGISH if that….because cutler believes he has the arm of a god and forces way to many passes into double sometimes triple coverage. The bears are in desperate need of a BIG TIME WIDE RECEIVER. Im sorry devin hester is not a WR that can produce big numbers….you picked up one QB with a bad rap…why not pick up a WR with a bad wrap? Anyone heard of T.O.?? yes, he may be a poor teammate but he is keeping his mouth shut over there in buffalo for haveing less than 400 yards in 7 games so far. Pretty sure you could get him for pretty cheap from the terrible BUFFALO BILLS.

Cutler still has alot of growing up to do. He is a QB that blams everyone BUT himself. He needs a WR to show his arm. Brandon Marshall in Denver was a great WR that could put up the numbers….not a kick returner turned into a WR because of his speed.

Devin Hester looks to me as to be dumb founded on the offensive line at most, many games on sunday. Maybe the bears should look at the offensive personal starting from the top…RON TURNER

Comment by VikingFan Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 3:07 pm
I believe he’s safe for now after this year, but if they miss the play-offs next year– toast.

Comment by SWC Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 3:12 pm
No, b/c the Bears would probably not upgrade the position even if it were the problem. The obvious replacement choices (Shanahan, Cowher, Gruden) would want too much $ and/or control. Look who the Bears have hired or tried to hire on the cheap when the job WAS open (Lovie, Dick Jauron, Dave McGinness, Neil Armstrong, Jim Dooley). Even Ditka, who wasn’t a premier coaching candidate around the league but who had sucess, largely because of the players obtained by Finks and Vainisi.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 3:15 pm
Hey, dump the hump.

‘Lovie’ WON the super bowl on a career year for almost everybody on the team with few injuries.

Who hired Turner? Who hired Babich? Who dumped Rivera?

Go Green Bay.

Comment by Anonny Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 3:54 pm
We need Ditka!!! That man would set things straight with pure poetry. Love that man!!!

Comment by Boscobud Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 6:45 pm
Cool it. Lovie’s fine. Not his fault Urlacher, Kevin Jones, Dusty Dvorcek et al. went down before they could do anything productive.

Injuries probably will prevent the Bears from getting to the playoffs. We’ll have to suffer through the next 10 games anyway. A few wins, a few losses, and Favre goes to the playoffs.

Comment by Bobs yer Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 8:31 pm