Replacing Lovie Smith Easier Than You'd Think

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After Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Bears head coach Lovie Smith faced an angry Chicago media and said that his team had some "soul-searching" to do before the team's matchup with the San Francisco 49ers this Thursday. 

That's fine. The team can search for soul all they want. They might also see if they can locate some heart and find a little identity while they're at it. 

I myself took the Bears' second blowout loss in three weeks as my cue to search for a possible new head coach for the 2010 season, and it didn't take long before I found just the man who might be up to the task of restoring this once-proud franchise to a position of prominence in the NFL: Vikings Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Frazier's rapid ascent up the NFL coaching ladder is largely due to his reputation as a defensive specialist who gets the best out of his players, which is the main reason I think he would make a good head coach.

His tenure as the defensive coordinator with division rival Minnesota has helped the Vikings establish and maintain one of the league's best defenses for the past three seasons.

But that's not the only reason why Frazier would be a good fit with the Bears. Frazier knows what it means to win in Chicago, and how important it is to uphold a winning attitude in that city. After all, Frazier was a starting cornerback for the 1985 Bears team that won Super Bowl XX.

His coaching pedigree began first and foremost as a player for the Bears under the tutelage of Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka.

When "Iron Mike" took over the franchise in 1983, the Bears were a team without an identity, much like they are now. George Halas realized this and wisely decided to give the coaching reins to a man who had proven himself with the Bears as a player by helping the Bears win an NFL Championship before accomplishing the same feat in Dallas.

Ditka was not the perfect coach by any means, and some have criticized him for not winning more with the ultra-talented Bears teams of the 1980's. But at the time, he was perfect for the Bears, and is the only man to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Chicago.

We are now more than two decades removed from that magical day in the Superdome when Ditka and Ryan were carried off the field as champions, and the Bears are mired in mediocrity.

Other losing teams are trying to get better, but the Bears can't improve unless they admit they are in trouble, and they're in trouble with Lovie Smith.

Later this year, as the 2009 season comes to an unsatisfying close in Chicago, Frazier's contract with the Vikings will also end. The stars are all aligned for the Bears front office to pass the torch along and for history to repeat itself. 

But if the Bears organization decides to allow the Lovie Smith era to continue, then another team will surely hire Frazier as their new head coach and the Bears will remain a middle-to-bottom of the pack franchise.

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