In biology, organisms that survive through a long-term attachment to a stronger host organism, at the expense of that host's well-being, are referred to as parasites. Depending on biological context, the term parasite can refer to any number of species, ranging from ticks to weeds to tapeworms.
But in today's lesson, we will discuss one lesser-known parasite that is truly a marvel of nature. Name: Bob Babich. Host Organism/Organization: The Chicago Bears.
When strong and aggressive enough, some parasites can completely sap the life from some of nature's strongest organisms. With enough time, vines, weeds and molds can bring down huge oak trees, while microscopic intestinal parasites can quickly lead to the demise of otherwise healthy mammals.
But never before has any parasite caused the kind of rapid devastation to an entire professional organization as Babich has for the Chicago Bears.
Babich became the defensive coordinator for the Bears after Ron Rivera left town after helping lead the team to Super Bowl XLI. Most Bears fans, media outlets, and even players were mystified by Rivera's firing, but the opportunistic Babich was promoted by his best buddy and symbiont, Lovie Smith.
Previously, Babich lay dormant in his seemingly unnecessary role as the linebackers coach, overseeing and "mentoring" hugely talented players like Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs both of whom had already established themselves as perennial Pro-Bowlers.
But even then, the parasite Babich was perfectly willing to take credit for their success in his first two two seasons with the Bears.
Latching onto his sole defender and Head Coach Lovie Smith for protection from the perplexed media, Babich settled into his new habitat as defensive coordinator, which came with a more impressive title, a nicer office and a bigger paycheck.
However unqualified Babich was, his unique ability to leach off of the success, kindness and talent of the rest of the people comprising the Bears organism/organization meant that his promotion was practically guaranteed following Rivera's dismissal.
What followed in Babich's first two seasons in his new habitat was quite unprecedented. The Bears defense plummeted from third and fifth in the league in 2005 and 2006, respectively, to 28th and 21st in just his first two seasons as defensive coordinator, without any major roster changes.
No parasite has ever succeeded in causing such profound destruction to its host. Not even the world-record-setting 37-foot tapeworm extracted from a Mississippi woman in 1991.
The Bears have always lived and died by their defense, and for a franchise with so much talent and money invested on that side of the ball, their inability to free themselves from this pathogen may prove to be the undoing of not only the talented players currently on the roster, but also the the previously successful head coach, and an otherwise proud tradition.
So you might be asking yourself, how can this be stopped or prevented? Unfortunately, because of Babich's parasitic nature, the answer is not as simple as you might have hoped.
The Bears' organization has apparently decided to take out their frustrations with Babich by stomping out younger and weaker organisms like their linebackers, defensive line, and defensive backs coaches. Yet Babich still remains intact and healthy as ever in his habitat as the D.C.
Due to his unusual attachment to his host Lovie Smith, perhaps the best the Bears as an organism/organization could hope to do is to demote Babich to a lesser role where he would still be able to survive off the good graces and talent of others, but would be essentially dormant again and not in a position to further compromise the well being of the team as a whole.
But if you were to ask me, I'd still say the best way to get rid of a weed is to pull it out by the roots and be gone of it forever.
And that concludes today's lesson.
9 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Richard Diaz 5 months ago
Right on the money. Couldn't agree more. Babich has turned the cover two defense into the "no cover" defense. Rivera's firing was a big mistake. Look at the Chargers resurgent defense since he took over. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk just fix the @#@#$@ thing. This may sound crazy but to fix the cover two they need to return to a speed oriented defensive line to create a credible rush but this has left to a vulnerable to rushing game in the past. To fix that problem they need a big middle linebacker and a big and fast strong safety. Urlacher is to small to be that linebacker but he is perfect as the big and fast strong safety. This combo would free the line to create pressure but provide the size in the linebacking /safety to handle the run especially from big backs. I know moving Urlacher sounds crazy but anybody got any better ideas ?
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Joey Garcia 5 months ago
Great article James!! ! hey where were you when I was in chemistry class in high school ??? LOL. Not too much to say about the article besides that you took the (typing) words right out of my mouth ..good job.
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KMC C. 5 months ago
Nice article... Who would you like to take over for Babich? I would love to see Maranelli at Dline coach, but I'm not so sure about D coordinator. I do believe Babich is at fault, but I don't see why Bear fans want to lynch him, but give Lovie a free pass. It's Lovie's scheme that they are running, and with the players that he wanted. I don't think that you can blame anyone but the players for consistently giving up 3rd and long completions... Unless you blame the entire scheme, and that should be on Lovie. Even if they keep Babich I think the Bears D can turn it around if they can just fix the personnel problems. They need better players... Especially at SLB and in the secondary. I'm just finally happy to see Hillenmeyer out of the picture because anyone is better than that guy. I wonder if they will invest in a young and fast MLB to eventually replace Urlacher, and possibly move Urlacher to SLB eventually.
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James 5 months ago
You bring up a good point. I've asked some people who are a little bit more familiar with coaching responsibilities at the professional level than I am, and I described the Bears decline in production and all the mitigating factors (i.e. Rivera's departure, Babich's promotion, no significant change in personnel, injuries etc.) Essentially, what they told me was that while the head coach is responsible for designing the defensive scheme, it is up to the D.C. to make the players buy into it and execute it. If they do not, the D.C. must let the head coach know, and then help draw up plans that will work. With all that being said, the possibility that Lovie decided to radically change how the defense operated after it took the team to the Super Bowl is very remote. So maybe the best thing to do is to draft offensive players until Babich is gone, since he will probably ruin any defensive star and render them useless.
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Spencer Taylor 5 months ago
Great article, James. I would also like to see Babich gone, but I feel that the scheme has to be cut as well.
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MARCOS PEREZ 5 months ago
OMG!!! RIGHT ON !!! MY FRIEND, FINALLY I READ AN ARTICLE THAT MADE MY DAY,HECK!!!
LOOK, THE GUYS DON'T EVEN WANT TO PLAY FOR THEIR A-#$%H-%$# DC, IT'S SO OBVIUS!!
BUT NEXT SEASON WILL BE EVEN WORSE AND HOPEFULLY ALL THE STAFF OF LIERS WILL BE GONE FOREVER!!! AND THEY BRING SOMEONE THAT RESTORES THE PRIDE OF DABEARS!!
THANK YOU JAMES!!!
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MARCOS PEREZ 5 months ago
BTW:CAN ANYBODY SENT THIS TO THE MC CASKEYS?????? HA HA HA
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MARCOS PEREZ 5 months ago
HEY LET'S MAKE A WEB SITE: FIREBOBBABICH.COM
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James 5 months ago
I'm glad you all enjoyed it. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. With every defensive position coach who gets fired I'm getting the impression more and more that the Bears front office is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Maybe as fans we should just hope for a terrible season next year, because it seems clear to me that until that happens, the owners will be satisfied with mediocrity. If you ask me, I'd rather have the Bears go 4-12 for the next three years if it meant they'd win the Super Bowl the next year as opposed to them just maintaining the status quo, always teetering around the .500 area without making the playoffs.
They'll blame injuries and position coaches and the quarterback until the cows come home, because they don't want to admit the defense isn't the same. And who can blame them? The defense SHOULD be the same, because it's all the same players who dominated in 2006, but they got rid of their diamond in the rough, Ron Rivera. And they know it as well as you and I.
But have faith Bears fans, because even this franchise can't stay blind forever. So the next time you see the Bears' defense piss away a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Don't scream and rage and gnash your teeth. Just smile and wave goodbye to Babich because his days at Halas Hall are numbered.
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