Lovie or Hate It, the Head Coach Controls the Bears' Defense

CHICAGO- After winning the National Football Conference championship in 2006, the Chicago Bears had a crucial decision to make regarding its coaching staff. 

Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera's contract expired while head coach Lovie Smith had one more year left on a contract that made him the National Football League's lowest-paid head coach. One of these coaches had to go, and the other would be able to take control of the Bears' defense.

After Chicago decided not to retain Rivera, who joined the Bears coaching staff in 2004 along with Smith, for the 2007 season, Smith named linebackers coach Bob Babich the new defensive coordinator. With that move, he sent a clear message to his defense: he is the king.

Before taking over the Bears as head coach, Smith served as a defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams from 2001-03. In 2003, Babich was given his first NFL coaching job as the Rams' linebackers coach.

Prior to his stint with the Rams, Smith worked with Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the linebackers coach. With the Bucs, he helped develop the "Tampa 2" defense, a strategy that he took with him to the Rams, and later to the Bears.

With Rivera gone after the 2006 season and Babich taking over the defensive coordinator position, Smith took full control of a defense that ranked first in the NFC in overall defense and takeaways. The question of whether this was a result of Rivera's leadership or Smith's "Tampa 2" strategy would get an answer.

So far, the "Tampa 2" has proven to be more of a liability than an asset for the Bears' defense as it finished 28th and 21th in overall defense in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

One of the Bears' biggest defensive problems has been the linemen's inability to rush the passer. Defensive end Alex Brown led the team with just six sacks, ranking 32nd in the NFL.

To help bolster the pass rush, Smith has once again sent in reinforcements from his clique, hiring Rod Marinelli as his defensive line coach.

Before taking over as the Detroit Lions' head coach in 2006, Marinelli served as the defensive line coach for the Buccaneers from 1996-2005. After Smith left the Bucs for the Rams, Marinelli was named as an assistant head coach in 2002, a position he will hold with the Bears as well.

If all goes well for the Bears, Marinelli's experience with the "Tampa 2" defense will rub off on Brown and the rest of the defensive line, taking the responsibility of rushing the quarterback off the linebackers and safeties. If not, the Bears will continue to regress defensively and wish they could have retained Rivera.