oh man.. Lovie Smith got canned today. it's somewhat, but not entirely, surprising, and i can't say i agree with it.
from a Yahoo article: "Smith, who posted an 81-63 regular season mark with the team since 2004, and a 6-3 record in the postseason, had just three losing records in his tenure with the organization -- 5-11 in his first season, and two 7-9 seasons."
that's a damned solid record over 9 years. never going below 7 and 9, except in his 1st season, where anybody should have a lot of leeway.
some will bluster that, "Winners win championships!" or whatever. but that's glib, because there's so much outside of a head coach's control (e.g. injuries, draft picks, etc). winning without going all the way can be heartbreaking, but to have so many bouts with this frustration requires the team be successful to begin with. truly bad teams avoid heartbreak by never inducing any hope or suspense. :P
the offense needed an overhaul anyway, so i'm not sure how much this move will hurt that unit. but what of the Bears' stand-out defense? defensive-minded Smith is gone. coordinator Marinelli is probably gone as well. sure, you have veteran players who spent a lot of time in this system, and won't forget their teachings right away ... but will they even want to stick around? there are a number of guys in their 30s, who might just call it an early retirement. or maybe they'll follow Smith and/or Marinelli if they're hired elsewhere.
call it lack of imagination, but i'm having a hard time picturing who will do better than Lovie. he put together the team's best winning percentage (56%) since Ditka (63%).
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