The trio of Ted Phillips, Jerry Angelo, and Lovie Smith also announced an opening for the Defensive Coordinator position as well. They also announced that they will seek someone from outside the organization for this hire as well (i.e. NOT Rod Marinelli). The Beard has made no secret of his displeasure of Lovie's exposed Tampa 2, and apparently Jerry Angelo has had enough of it as well judging by his comments today. Lovie Smith still admirably believes in his scheme, which really shouldn't be too surprising since he's proven himself to be a Tony Dungy Tampa 2 Drone rather than defensive innovator. The good news for Bears fans, is that it will not be Lovie's hire this time, even though he still thinks he's going to have an input on who gets the job.Some of the names that have popped up include the recently fired by the Buffalo Bills Perry Fewell, Herm Edwards, and Mike Zimmer. Fewell worked for Lovie with the Bears before. Herm Edwards goes back a long way with Lovie to their Tampa days. Both of those names are brought up simply because Lovie has worked with them before, but that's exactly the type of thing the Bears are trying to get away from. Otherwise what's the point of going outside the organization?
Zimmer on the other hand, is one of the hottest names in the NFL for a possible HEAD Coach, NOT Defensive Coordinator. There is no reason to believe he would make a lateral move to be the Defensive Coordinator of the Bears, when plenty of other teams would hire him to run the whole show. The only way Zimmer would even consider the Bears, is if he were to be paid as much as a head coach. The Bears obviously aren't interested in doing that because if they wanted to pay "Head Coach Money" for someone, they would have fired Lovie today and hired/paid for a new Head Coach.
It's been mentioned on this blog before, but it bears (pun) repeating. A year ago, the Green Bay Packers had similar issues, (mainly defensive) plaguing their team. The Packers had their quarterback, a horrible offensive line, a capable tailback, and competent receivers. They went out and hired Dom Capers, and put together arguably the most complete defense in the league, and are back in the playoffs with as good a chance as anybody to go to the Super Bowl this season.
As much vitriol and nausea the Packers cause this blog, it is always wise to study the ways of one's adversary. They have given the Bears a blueprint on how quick turnarounds in the NFL can happen. Lets see how well the Bears will learn the lesson, by hiring a defensive innovator who understands what system will work best with his personnel, rather than falling in love with a scheme.
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