Lovie Smith, Coaching Staff Ready for 2009 Chicago Bears Season
Published by Scott Shniderman on May 28, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
There will be big changes on how and who will run the Bears defense this season. For the last two years, the Bears have followed the instruction of defensive coordinator Bob Babich, who took over after Ron Rivera left post-Super Bowl XLI.
However, after two years of sub-par results, Head Coach Lovie Smith will take back the defensive play calling for the upcoming season. Lovie has some experience running the defense, as he was the defensive coordinator for the 2001 St. Louis Rams team that made it to the Super Bowl.
Smith had helped reshape the Rams D that had given up a league worst 29.4 points per game the year before to a respectable 17.1 ppg in ’01. Smith continued to run the defense of the Rams for two more seasons before coming to the Bears as Head Coach in 2004.
Smith knows that the defense disappointed last year, so he will take it upon himself to make the defensive calls from the sideline this season.
The Smith change will not be the only one on the defensive side of the ball in 2009. Chicago has a new secondary coach, Jon Hoke, who spent the last seven seasons with the Houston Texans.
Some say he will bring much-needed experience to the staff. Gill Byrd will be the assistant defensive backs coach. Byrd was a solid DB in the league from ‘83-‘92 and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in San Diego.
Hoke and Byrd will have their work cut out for them, as the Bears ranked an atrocious 30th overall in pass defense last season, giving up a whopping 3859 yards through the air in 2008.
The Bears are looking to Rod Marinelli, the new defensive line and Assistant Head Coach, to help the Bears lineman continue their success from last year, when they ranked third in the league in yards per rush at 3.4.
Marinelli comes to Chicago after an unsuccessful 10-38 three year stint as the Head Coach for the Detroit Lions. So far at OTAs the players have responded well to Marinelli.
Ron Turner is returning for his fourth year as the offensive coordinator, although the offense did not do much to inspire confidence for Bears fans last year.
This is Turner’s second stint at Chicago OC, serving in the same position from 1993-1996 and then leaving the Bears for a head coaching stint at University of Illinois from 1997-2004 before returning to the Bears in 2005. Chicago finished 24th in the league in rushing yards per game (104.6) and 21st in the league in passing yards per game (191.3).
What’s surprising is the low rank in rush YPG, considering they had Matt Forte toting the rock for 1,238 yards last season. The offense figures to get a huge boost in the upcoming season, as young gunslinger Jay Cutler comes on board to help at the quarterback position.
Cutler should do wonders, as he is one of the top 10 QBs in the league. While many consider the offense to get a huge makeover with the new Pro Bowl QB, the early word out of camp is that the team will still rely on a heavy dose of ground chuck with plenty of play action mixed in.
This could be a make or break season for Turner running the offense.
Darryl Drake, the Bears receivers coach, has already started working with the young draft picks, Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox, who may need to contribute immediately this season.
Drake spent some time before the draft in Kileen, Texas working out Juaquin Iglesias and has made a positive impression on the Bears WR. Iglesias told ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson, “(Drake) came to Killeen, Texas, and worked me out and it just seemed like a good fit. He was good to me, he treated me well and we got a long together well. [Drake] made me feel comfortable and that was basically the main reason I wanted to go there.”
If Drake can help speed Iglesias and the other wide outs’ development this season, the Bears could be a real force in the NFC North.
The Bears are lucky to have Dave Toub as the special teams coordinator, as he has consistently put together one of the top special teams units over the last three seasons.
It definitely helps when Devin Hester has one of the best return seasons in the history of the NFL, but Toub has found ways to get other players on the special teams to the Pro Bowl.
In addition to Hester, Robbie Gould and Brendon Ayanbadejo were voted to the 2007 Pro Bowl. Toub was also voted the 2007 Special Teams Coach of the Year by his peers. Toub is very well respected by the team and fellow coaches and is primed to continue as one of the best ST coordinators in the league.
With its mix of newcomers and returning coaches the Bears staff looks to improve upon the team’s 9-7 record and get the Chicago Bears back into the NFL Playoffs this season.
