Another problem was the Bears Defense was showing signs of aging.
And the reason they were showing signs of aging is that Lovie, even w/more authority over the draft wasn't able to find guys that could do what he needed. It's just another reason he had to go. He couldn't help rebuild a defense that was showing signs of cracking, and he wasn't really part of the reason most of them were there to begin with.
Problem wasn't firing Lovie, his time in TB and his time so far in IL has proven he wasn't special. The problem was Emery was a tool and Trestman is perfect proof of the peter principle.
+1 We can't change the past, but I sure wish we could have had this present level of GM and coaching staff put in place when we moved on from Angelo and Lovie. Emery/Trestman/Fox not only didn't help our situation - they made it much worse. Just broke the back of the team for years. All these years later and we are coming off a 5-win season, and an 8-win season this coming season looks "okay" now. That's how badly the franchise was crippled. Totally dropped the ball. Bad to worse after Lovie.
Lovie needed Rivera imo, and his unwillingness to try and get more aggressive in the SB made things easy for Manning. The cover 2 without a freak athlete like Urlacher can't do enough and once Brian's injuries slowed him down the whole defense struggled. Yeah, Lovie needed a good OC he wasn't going lose in a year or two but this is more complicated than it looks. Lovie often shed his coaching assistants when he was on the hot seat, he also wasn't going to let an OC get his defense in trouble. Martz helped guide this team to a championship game but quit at the end of the next season citing "philosophical differences."
And the reason they were showing signs of aging is that Lovie, even w/more authority over the draft wasn't able to find guys that could do what he needed. It's just another reason he had to go. He couldn't help rebuild a defense that was showing signs of cracking, and he wasn't really part of the reason most of them were there to begin with.
Dick Jauron mostly built the Defense..
If you mean Jauron was coach when certain players were drafted than yes, he built the DEF. Because the Jauron/Blanche DEF was based on different playcalls, personnel, and philosophy than the Lovie-2. Just look at the DT they used and the role of the LBs. Completely different.
And the multiyear complete bust draft classes. The Cutler Error; either he was just average or we failed to supply weapons around him, but probably both. Mainly the failure to draft NFL players killed off the Lovie Smith, JA era.
definitely both. remember all the talk about Cutler taking that Miami team to 10 wins and the playoffs last year? And then another backup played him, at worst even(their backup wasn't very good). Cutler was always part of the problem, JA/Emery's in ability to put players around him was another issue...except at the end when he had all sorts of guys around him and he still was average. Lack of ability for Lovie to find a competent OC was another issue.
Look, Lovie did great for the Bears and earned that 2nd contract. But by the end it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to help them keep that defense as a strength, nor was he going to be able to help build a competent O, so it was time to go.
Seriously? I don't and my recall is pretty good. Miami wasn't that good.
If there's one thing Jay has proven throughout his career it's that he cannot carry a team alone. To win he needed talent around him on both sides of the ball and a system that utilizes his strengths and downplays his weaknesses. The reality of it is that he never really had that. Not even here in Denver because the Broncos defense had fallen apart under Shanahan just as it did under Trestman in Chicago. Not quite that badly but those were not good years for the vaunted Orange Crush.
With the exception of 2010 Cutler eventually became an average starter playing mostly on very average teams unable himself to elevate the team beyond that thereby disproving the myth JA liked to peddle that Cutler would make everyone around him better. He never did and few QBs ever have save those who end up in the HOF.
Even in 2010 it was more the last hurrahs of one of Lovie's great defenses that got us to the NFCC Game while Jay was getting brain damaged from trying to operate Martz offense with little WR talent and an OL who couldn't pass block well to save their souls. Basically the offense was just good enough 'til Jay went down and then it wasn't.
Yes there was very much that talk here the radio twitterverse.
Even a QB as "experienced" as Cutler is unlikely to play that all well not having even participated in camp. Despite that he played about as well as he ever has anywhere else. It was pretty much an average year for him in most respects.
While it may have been wishful thinking by some or a nice lead in for a media article or analysis but it would have taken some real luck to make 10 wins a reality even playing for Gase. He won 6 and maybe with some breaks he wins 8 but 10 was not very likely IMHO. That would have been a lot to expect coming in cold to replace Tannehill.
Now he's retired for good and he can do his TV shows with Kristin. He's earned it.
Yes there was very much that talk here the radio twitterverse.
Even a QB as "experienced" as Cutler is unlikely to play that all well not having even participated in camp. Despite that he played about as well as he ever has anywhere else. It was pretty much an average year for him in most respects.
While it may have been wishful thinking by some or a nice lead in for a media article or analysis but it would have taken some real luck to make 10 wins a reality even playing for Gase. He won 6 and maybe with some breaks he wins 8 but 10 was not very likely IMHO. That would have been a lot to expect coming in cold to replace Tannehill.
Now he's retired for good and he can do his TV shows with Kristin. He's earned it.