Bob Babich Demoted Without Being Demoted?

Did Bob Babich get demoted without being told?  My answer to this is yes. On Jan. 14 a mere two weeks after the regular season ended for the Chicago Bears, ESPN reported that Lovie Smith was going to call the defense in 2009. Just a few days before that the Bears hired Rod Marinelli as their assistant head coach and defensive line coach.

So what does that mean?  It means the Bears in essence demoted Bob Babich from defensive coordinator.  He may still have the title, but he will not be calling the plays as he used to and Rod Marinelli will have a significant impact on the Bears defense this year.

Yes, Rod Marinelli was a failure as the head coach of the Detroit Lions. But there is this old saying that you get promoted one level past where you are most effective. I think this applies to Rod Marinelli. He was a very respected line coach with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers before going to the Lions. There is no reason to believe he won’t be a very effective line coach for the Bears. This is good news for the Bears. 

The Bears defense has really struggled in the last two years under Bob Babich.  Under Ron Rivera, in 2005 the Bears were ranked  second in Defense (Total yards) and fifth in 2006. 

That dropped to 28^th in 2007 and 21^st in 2008. I don’t believe that it was all the players fault for this dramatic drop nor do I believe it was strictly Bob Babich. But I do believe that Bob Babich has the lion’s share of the blame. 

In my estimation, the team didn’t attack like it used to. Here is where having Lovie call the plays should make a difference.  Also adding Marinelli to coach the linemen should result in more pressures and hopefully more sacks.

More reason for optimism are the 2009 draft picks. Gilbert should make a fine addition to compliment Ogunleye and Brown. I see him filling the same kind of role Mark Anderson did in the 2006 season. D.J. Moore will either push Corey Graham to be better or replace him right out.  Nathan Vasher will be relegated to a back up role.

All in all, the Bears defense should be better this year and that should help Jay Cutler and the offense. This is an exciting off season if you’re a Bears fan…enjoy it, it doesn’t happen that often!