Fire Chicago Bear Head Coach Lovie Smith…Now!
Published by Darrell Horwitz on November 8, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Watching the Chicago Bear debacle against Arizona today, despite the late comeback attempt against a team that already put this one in the victory column brings me to one conclusion—Lovie Smith should be fired right now. This game would have been a repeat of the Cincinnati Bengal game if the Cardinals had the revenge factor with Cedric Benson and put the hammer down the way the Bengals did a couple of weeks ago.
I don’t want to hear from anybody that you can’t change coaches in mid-season of the NFL, because that would mean changing schemes and the players wouldn’t have time to adjust.
The Bears are going nowhere fast anyway, so it really doesn’t matter. THIS IS NOT A PLAYOFF TEAM.
They don’t know what they’re doing on both sides of the ball right now anyway, so what does it matter if they make a change at this time? At least it would give fans hope for the future.
Another year of Lovie-speak is more than I can stand. “We’ll look at the tape and make corrections and go from there.”
To make changes, you need to have someone in charge that knows football and Lovie is sadly lacking in that area. He only knows one defense; has no clue how to make in game adjustments, and is incapable of motivating a team anymore. They’re no longer buying his shtick.
I would like to introduce here the nickname I have for Lovie Smith, a name I feel is absolutely appropriate—LUCKY SMITH.
He was lucky to get the job in the first place. He was undeserving of the opportunity because he wasn’t that great as a defensive coordinator. He obviously has no leadership skills. All you have to do is hear him speak to know that. That also includes his intelligence, or should I say lack of it. Listening to him and his press conferences on a regular basis and you hear the same thing over and over again.
That’s because he doesn’t know anything else. HE’S DUMB. He employs the cover two or Tampa two because his mentor Tony Dungy taught him that. He doesn’t know any other way to play defense.
He fired Rom Rivera after the Super Bowl because he felt threatened by his presence. He likes to put people in place that lack experience and will not question his authority.
Before anyone comments to me that he took the Bears to the Super Bowl, let me shoot down your argument right now. The Bears went to the Super Bowl in spite of Lucky Smith.
Devin Hester took the Bears to the Super Bowl.
I would have actually fired him with a couple of seconds left in regulation in the playoff game against Seattle that year when he called time out with Seattle having the ball with a couple of seconds left at midfield.
The only thing that could have happened would have been Seattle either scoring a touchdown or getting a defensive penalty that would have allowed them to kick the game winning field goal and keeping the Bears from making the Super Bowl.
If I were Jerry Angelo, I would have called Lovie Smith at that point, told him he was fired, and tell him to hand the phone to Ron Rivera and tell him he’s taking over the team.
The year before they lost to Carolina in the playoffs when the stubborn and clueless Smith continued to play wide receiver Steve Smith with one-on-one coverage as he burned them again and again and sent them packing their bags and heading to vacation.
He played his beloved defense against Indianapolis in the Super Bowl against a quarterback in Peyton Manning that knows that defense in his sleep. He did nothing to change things up.
That’s the only reason the vastly overrated Tony Dungy ever won a Super Bowl, because he went against his clueless pupil. He never won it with very talented Tampa teams, and only once with the potent Colts.
‘Lucky’ Smith then got a $22 million extension for four years beyond the one year Lucky had left on his contract, effectively locking the Bears into mediocrity at least for the next five years, because the cheap McCaskey clan will not pay off that contract to send him away.
He had a year left on his contract when he received the extension. You didn’t have to extend him at that time. Of course the media chimed in and Lovie put on a push for an extension, and the weak-minded Angelo gave in to him and tied the Bears’ hands for several years.
Why make that decision when Smith was in a position of power? It’s not like the Bears won the Super Bowl. If they waited to the next year when the Bears failed to make the playoffs, now management is in the position of power.
They could extend him at far less money and years, or they could make the smart decision at that time and replace him. Either way they come out far better.
The Bears constantly lose games because of the cluelessness of Smith, including that game last year when the Bears lost a game against Atlanta when they took the lead with eleven seconds left in the game and somehow still lost.
There are too many examples of this under his reign. His game management is non-existent.
I’m not just saying fire him without having a plan.
To give the team the best chance to try to save the season, you can bring in Mike Shanahan. Cutler knows him and his offense, and that will change things dramatically right from the start. Shanahan is also a top-notch NFL head coach; not an unimaginative defensive coordinator who was given a job he did not deserve.
Bill Cowher is also out there and either one of them would be a great addition no matter what happens the rest of this season.
Let me repeat—THE BEARS ARE GOING NOWHERE THIS YEAR.
Now I know the cheap and clueless Bears will not do this. Winning is not important, making money is. Giving away money is a no-no.
The Bears might have lost last week against Cleveland in an abysmal victory if Brady Quinn started the game instead of Derek Anderson, but he has a huge bonus based on the percentage of plays he participates in. Like I said, winning is not important, the bottom line is.
Trading for Jay Cutler was supposed to turn this team around with a franchise-type quarterback, but as I said when they made the trade, “If you don’t know how to use him, it doesn’t matter how talented he is.”
The Bears bought a new toy, but they read the instructions and didn’t know how to put it together, so it sits there unused.
This season is a disgrace! I do a sports radio show every Sunday and miss the beginning of the game if it starts at noon. In previous years, under the Smith regime, I would go grocery shopping after the show and get home in time for the second half.
This year, I figured with Cutler, I had to get home as soon as possible so I could see every minute because I was so looking forward to having a quarterback for once in my lifetime.
Instead, they have the same team they had in the past. There may be a new name at quarterback, a guy with far better skills than they had before, but it’s still the same old team.
After the Bengal game, Smith said he didn’t have the team ready to play. He made the same statement after the Falcons loss. I wonder what he’s going to say today. If he can’t get his team ready to play, should he still be the head coach?
They’ve tuned him out and now it’s time to turn him loose. It’s time to fire ‘Lucky Smith.’
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