Chicago Bears May Need to Consider Major Coaching Overhaul

After watching the Packers rout the Bears today, I think it might be time for the Bears' front office to really think about the direction this franchise is heading in.

For years, Bears fans have weathered the shame and humiliation associated with a team that has always been run in the "old school" ways: an offensive philosophy based on mainly running the football instead of investing in solid QB production, a defense focused on stopping the run and creating pressure for opposing QBs, and coaches as stubborn as the management.

I find it incredible that this franchise refuses to adjust to modern-day football after so many embarrassing seasons have come to pass.

But there is an upside that may have come out of being dominated by the Packers 37-3 on Sunday. Maybe the front office took note and realized this team's failures dating back to the Super Bowl have all come from poor coaching, stubborn play calling, and worst of all, the inability to make the Bears players afraid to lose.

I knew before the 2007 season began that firing Ron Rivera was going to be a major blow to this team. But it didn't make the season any more tolerable, as the Bears plummeted to the bottom of the barrel in total defense.

Following the poor performance in 2007, the front office decided to get down to business by rewarding several veteran defensive players with unbelievably lucrative contracts for their poor performance the season before.

Now the question becomes, what motivation do the likes of Tommie Harris, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Nathan Vasher have to play well? With the exception of Briggs, none have shown any desire to succeed at all this season, even after all injuries have healed and excuses have dried up.

I felt nauseated after watching the Bears' defensive efforts this weekend, which is something I never felt when I watched pitiful Chicago teams get destroyed for years throughout the '90s and during the woeful 2002-2004 seasons.

Back then, I didn't expect to see good play out of the Bears, and as I watched them get massacred Sunday after Sunday, I started to feel numb to it, and eventually I became optimistic about the future.

When Lovie Smith was ushered in as the new Head Coach in Chicago, I felt that a new era might be beginning. After his first rocky season at the helm, he had a lot of young Bears players on both sides of the ball who wanted to make their presence in the league felt and establish an identity for the team.

With every one of Harris' sacks and Vasher's interceptions, it became clear that the Bears had the ingredients to lead their division for years to come and maybe even win a Super Bowl.

Flash forward to today.

Lovie Smith and his sidekicks Bob Babich and Ron Turner have failed miserably, and while they currently hold a 5-5 record, you could argue that they only deserve a 2-8 mark. Even though they dominated the injury-riddled Colts in the season opener and woeful Lions the first time around, it didn't take long for opponents to figure out how to pick apart the Bears on both sides of the ball.

They escaped against the Eagles in Week Four but came within inches of another fourth quarter meltdown loss, and they would have lost to the Vikings had it not been for their awful special teams play. The second time the Bears faced the Lions, they nearly lost as Dan Orlovsky picked apart their secondary for a career day.

But the losses to the Titans and Packers have made it clear to me at least that the time has come for the Bears' front office to seriously consider cutting ties with Smith and his buddies once and for all. Defensive schemes are only as good as the coach's ability to make his players execute. The players are right when they insist that the scheme is not the problem.

Right now the playoff picture looks bleak. Teams with the talent to go to the Super Bowl should not be 5-5.

Sure, there were a few games that the Bears were winning and lost in the fourth quarter. But with the mediocre play calling and lack of discipline (Tillman in OT vs. Tampa Bay) instilled in the players by the coaches, I suppose we should have just expected the Bears to give up double-digit and/or fourth quarter leads in those games we lost early on this season.

The fact is the Bears are 5-5, and with the poor coaching we have seen this season, fans should be grateful for the record they've accumulated because it could realistically be a lot worse.

I remember scoffing at some Vegas oddsmaker’s online video released over the summer advising gamblers to put their money on the Bears ending the 2008 campaign with a sub-.500 record.

The reasons he gave? A lack of defensive production in 2007, the chronic quarterback situation, an untested rookie running back from Tulane, and more than anything else, the coaching. While Orton and Forte have performed—at times—like they saw that video and took exception, the coaches certainly haven't.

I think it is safe to say that this isn't going to be a Super Bowl season for the Bears, so we need to ask ourselves: Where do we go from here? If I was in the Bears' front office, I would be trying to salvage the talent and remaining potential on the roster before free agency and injuries have whittled the team down to nothing.

Instead of waiting for that one draft pick who will turn the team around or signing underperforming veterans to ridiculous contract extensions, I would focus my attention on finding coaches who could put that talent to use. They've tried shifting personnel on the field, and it hasn't worked.

Now it's time to try shifting the personnel on the sidelines.