Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com suggests there could be a possibility that Lovie Smith’s run as the Bears head coach could be coming to end following this season.
“At the midpoint of the season, with his team boasting a 7-1 record, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith seemed to be improving his odds of getting a contract extension,” writes La Canfora. “Since then, the team has gone 1-4 and talk of a new deal has dried up, placing the Bears on the list of teams that could be searching for a new coach in a matter of weeks.”
La Canfora mentions that sources say the Bears will wait to see how the rest of the season plays out before considering giving Smith an extension. He went on to add that first year GM Phil Emery, who has worked under scouts and executives during his time under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s tutelage, might consider bringing in Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or even Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien.
The Bears are 1-4 in their last five games which has put Smith on the hot seat. It sounds as though in order for Smith to keep his job, the Bears will have to make a deep run into the postseason.
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Ok im with letting smith go he didnt get the bears to where they should have been, but we have a lot of decisions to make, and mike tice definetly has to go, but signing Henry melton has to be a top priority, tight end has to be up there also, and i do think with the offensive linemen we have now and playing in the right scheme will fair better and then we come to the older players Brian urlacher, sign him or let him go? Grooming someone for charles tillman and lance briggs there getting up there in age also, may be a couple of years away but peppers getting up in age, so we have a lot of work to do this upcoming offseason,I dont think we should clean house but we definetly have to start looking towards the future and finding young productive talent and need to draft a little better, which i think we improved in that area last year
I like your level-headed approach here. No question you start with Melton, even if you have to use the franchise tag to keep him. Too young and too productive to let go. He and Paea will be great in the years to come. Since they have the No. 20 pick, you’re really looking for the best player available. Of course, grabbing an OT like Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan would be great, but there’s really no guarantee that he’ll be there. OT is really deep in the free agent market, so they could really a find a decent value there. I also agree that they need to keep reloading on the defensive side of the ball before it’s too late. Hopefully Urlacher will be willing to ask for a reasonable sum of $ given that he’s in his mid-thirties. I was really high on Shea McClellin last year, but I don’t see much impact talent beyond that in their 2011 draft class. It’s still early, so they could develop, but I had higher hopes for Jeffery in terms of creating mismatches.