Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on August 17, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Does this question make you raise your eyebrows? Are you wondering who I’m talking about when I say this?

Every Bears fan should know the team currently has three ex-NFL head coaches, including former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz, former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice, and former Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli. 

Having three head coaches on the staff certainly gives the Bears some experience, but it also might give them something more, in case current head coach Lovie Smith doesn’t make it after this season.

It is difficult to think the Bears hired all of this talent for just one season of work.  It’s even harder to believe both Martz and Tice would have signed on for just once season. So something under the table could have happened to give these guys some reassurance that they would be around next season if Smith wasn’t.  But what kind of reassurance could they have been given?

Perhaps management felt that having these guys on staff with Smith on such a short leash could have given them a chance to evaluate both Martz and Tice as possible head coaching candidates? 

It seems like this could be a possibility.  Both have been head coaches before and both have had some decent success in the league.

Hiring from within would make the most sense for the organization. 

They could almost easily transition without having to worry about losing everything they have put together on offense (especially if they keep Martz, but Tice could keep a similar offense if he were hired).  This would help the team out, especially the offense, in the long run because they wouldn’t have to learn a new offense for the third consecutive season.

So which assistant coach would be the better coach to hire? 

If he were willing to stick around, Martz may be the best coach to keep simply because he has a track record of winning, as well as for the fact that it’s his offense that has been installed.

As previously mentioned, the Bears may not want to have to redo everything after having converted to this offense. That would be the ideal situation.

Martz would be the better choice, but he hasn’t done so well since leaving the Rams.  It’s best if the Bears see how things go this season before they start to consider hiring either Martz or Tice (or get rid of Smith); knowing how this organization acts, they may find it better to keep at least part of the team’s continuity going and keep one of the two past this season.

Naturally, this all depends on how well the Bears do this season and whether or not Smith will not have a job when it’s all said and done. 

Knowing the Bears, if they make the playoffs (even if they lose their first game in the playoffs) Smith will be around next season.  They would have to miss the playoffs in order for him to get fired and even then, it’s not a sure thing that he would be let go by the organization.

Many media members and fans want the Bears to go outside the organization to find their next head coach.  When the season ended in 2009 chants of “Bill Cowher” could be heard on almost every Bears media station, outlet, and newspaper.  He’s still the most desirable candidate (if he still wants to coach after his wife’s passing this summer) and would fit the Bears, the city, and their fans very well.

So is the Bear’s next head coach already on staff?  We will find out at the end of this new season.

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