Bob Babich Won't Change a Thing...and Change Is What the Chicago Bears Need

Stop me if this surprises you.

The Bears have just relieved Lloyd Lee of his duties as linebackers coach. That marks the third defensive coach to leave the Bears this offseason along with line coach Brick Haley and defensive backs coach Steve Wilks. Every Bears fan knows that all three of the mentioned units underachieved in some way in 2008.

However, the man in charge of the entire defense remains on the staff:  Coordinator Bob Babich.

Okay, I guess it doesn't surprise you.

The sad thing about the Bears' organization is that everybody is way too loyal to each other. It's time for loyalties to break. The coaching staff needs to be revamped, and Babich is the next name that needs to go. The facts are there.

The current defense has been together for a few years now. They finished in the top five in the league in defense in 2005 and 2006. There was a difference though. Ron Rivera was their defensive coordinator. Following the Bears' loss in Super Bowl XLI, Rivera moved on to San Diego after his contract wasn't renewed. Babich was hired during the offseason.

Here's where loyalties come into play. Babich worked with head coach Lovie Smith when the two were in St. Louis. Coincidence? I think not.

For the last two seasons, the defense, once seen as the best for the Bears since the '85 unit, has ranked 28th and 21st respectively. After ranking in the top 10 in the league in sacks for the last three years, the Bears plummeted into a three-way tie for 22nd.

One could make the argument that the defense is just getting old. That's not why Babich needs to be fired though. He needs to be fired because of his inability to make adjustments week after week. He also clearly hasn't recognized that the rest of the league has figured out the Cover Two.

The Bears need to make a decision:  Find a new defensive scheme or a new defensive coordinator. They had a whole offseason to make adjustments and bounce back from a rather poor 2007 showing. Maybe they won two more games this year, but there was little difference in strategy. Defense wins championships, and it can't work without a proper scheme.

We've seen that the coordinator isn't going to just change things up like magic. Why he hasn't done it is anyone guess. It's enough cause though to show him the door.