Bears' new coach ready to turn up heat on Packers

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 1/16/04 | Brad Biggs

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

It's not just another game.

It didn't take new Bears coach Lovie Smith long to do what his predecessors, Dick Jauron and Dave Wannstedt, never could -- admit beating the Green Bay Packers comes first.

Smith was introduced as the 13th coach in franchise history Thursday at Halas Hall, and the auditorium packed with owners and team officials went up in a roar when Smith made clear the path to success starts with breaking out of a prolonged slump against the Bears' fiercest rival.

''The No. 1 goal is to beat Green Bay,'' Smith said. ''One of the first things Michael McCaskey said to me, he gave me the history behind the Green Bay-Chicago rivalry and the number of times he wanted us to beat them. I understand that. I feel the pain.''

General manager Jerry Angelo showed the pain from his three-week coaching search, picking the news conference to fire back at his critics -- and create controversy along the way.

''I've listened to so much crap in the last two weeks,'' Angelo said. ''I had to look myself in the mirror and I said, you know, 'I should have a turban on.'''

By Thursday night, the Bears issued a statement apologizing for Angelo's remark.

Smith, who had exited the news conference before Angelo's outburst, made a good first impression during his appearance.

He thanked club matriarch Virginia McCaskey, paid tribute to coaches who have helped him along the way, and made mention of the organization being the league's charter franchise. He also paid respect to former coach Mike Ditka.

''As the leader of our team,'' Smith said, ''I will do everything possible to bring back the pride, tradition and excellence of the glory days of past great Bear teams.''

That, of course, relies on achieving success with the bigger picture -- winning the division and bringing the franchise its second Super Bowl title. Reaching the playoffs, something the Bears have done once in the last nine seasons, is in immediate view.

''It's not a rebuilding process that we see ourselves going through,'' he said. ''We're just adding a little bit and making that jump to the playoffs next year.''

The postseason was the standard Angelo used to evaluate Jauron, firing him after a 7-9 finish, his fourth losing season in five.

''I took my time and I went after what I consider to be the best, and I wasn't worried about having a little egg on my face,'' Angelo said. ''I wanted to make sure I got the right guy. We did.''

Angelo ran the personnel department in Tampa Bay when Smith, 45, was a linebackers coach under Tony Dungy from 1996-2000, a relationship that pushed him ahead of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm, the other finalist.

Regardless, either one was going to appear to be the bridesmaid after Angelo whiffed in an effort to land LSU coach Nick Saban last weekend when power became the sticking point. Angelo insisted that in order to keep an eye on the future, he must have control of all personnel matters, including the 53-man roster.

''If you did your research, as I am sure most of you have, 90 percent of the general managers in the league have that autonomy,'' Angelo said. ''Were there issues with certain candidates about that? Yes. I'm not surrendering that. I understand the coach's perspective when he comes in the building. He has to win right now. There have to be checks and balances. I have to protect ownership.''

One thing Smith, the former St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator, sold Angelo on in the hiring process was an aggressive offense molded in the shape of what St. Louis and Kansas City run, a clear difference from the unproductive and boring act produced by John Shoop.

Shoop is expected to be replaced by Chiefs quarterbacks coach Terry Shea.

''I understand the pain of the offensive woes that we've had around here, so we want to make a statement,'' Smith said. ''But more than just a statement, we're talking about winning that world championship. In order to do that, we have to be better.''

Smith is the first black head coach in Bears history and one of five black head coaches currently in the NFL.

He identified one of his first orders of business as getting settled in and going through stacks of videotapes to get a better feel for the personnel. Smith said he could talk about linebacker Brian Urlacher all day, and mentioned quarterback Rex Grossman, center Olin Kreutz and others.

Carrying the tag of being a players' coach, like Jauron, doesn't bother him.

''A lot of times people take that in a negative way,'' Smith said. ''I guess you have to pattern your style after someone. I'm Lovie Smith. I'm a guy with the name of Lovie that people have kind of poked at a little bit. The name really doesn't mean an awful lot."

It will mean gold if he can follow through on his vision.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

This guy was stolen from us. He read things out there that others don't see and had the guts to implement change. His methods worked. He was a people person from what I was told. Perfect example of a business moving forward with a better person. If you aren't aware or didn't finish the article, Lovie is black.

[giznort]

The Bears Still Suck, by the Happy Schnapps Combo. Go Pack Go.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I think it bodes ill for the Bears that Smith has established beating the Packers as his #1 goal.

This isn't Harvard and Yale, Army and Navy, Michigan and Ohio State. This is the NFL, where it's all about getting to the playoffs and ultimately winning the Super Bowl.

Anyone whose eyes aren't squarely set on that prize shouldn't be an NFL head coach.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I'll add to my previous comment that I don't even believe Smith. Let's assume he was offered two options:

1. winning both games against Green Bay but missing the playoffs; or

2. losing both to the Packers but making the playoffs.

Does anyone doubt that he'd opt for making the playoffs?

[freemama]

My brother in law taught this little rhyme to my children: Packers are great, Vikings are yucky and the Bears still stink.

Some truths hold year after year.

[freemama]

"Anyone whose eyes aren't squarely set on that prize shouldn't be an NFL head coach."

Amen!!!

[joesnuffy]

Bears beat the Packers?
Talk about being stuck in a rut
Dont forget to pack a lunch

[PianoMan]

Bwa ha ha. Go Pack!!!

It's really almost morphed into a Packers-Vikings rivalry. Certainly my die-hard Vikes fan friend and I have turned this into bloodsport.

[Catspaw]

The Bears Still Suck, by the Happy Schnapps Combo. Go Pack Go.

I love that song :-))

It's not smart to focus one's entire season on beating one team (didn't a former Packers coach do that when he coached Indianapolis?). But, well, it's Da Bears...AND THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

[Howie66]

There is one simple, undeniable rock solid FACT in life. That is this: The Bears still SUCK! (With apologies to giznort....I just could not let this go.)

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Ugh! I am so sick of hearing about this! Way too overblown. Lovie damn well knows what the ultimate goal is. But here's the kicker: until the Bears get their butts in gear and are ABLE to beat the Pack, their Super Bowl dreams will remain squarely that. We need to be able to take down the class of the division before moving on. And what's more, the players need to be able to step up for a huge game - it would be nice if they had more pressure situations to train them for pressure situations. If they want to build extra pressure into a game I am all in favor of that.

[brewcrew]

Bring it on, Mrs. Howell.

[WI Conservative 4 Bush]

I posted this to my Fantasy Football buddies this morning (the quote came from this morning's Journal Sentinel):

What happens to football people when they go to Chicago?? I suppose 2-14 might be a worthy goal for some, but wouldn't you think he would set the bar a bit higher?:

Lovie Smith said, "The No. 1 goal we'll have - the No. 1 goal - is to beat Green Bay. I feel the pain of seven years that the Chicago fans have of losing to them. I've been on the winning side the last five times I've played them, so I think we know how to beat them."

Smith's math or memory is a bit faulty because his record in his last five games against the Packers - two as defensive coordinator with the Rams and three as linebackers coach with the Bucs - is actually 4-1.

Not a good sign when your newly introduced coach starts lying to the fans. Expect more of the same in Chicagoland, friends.

[Warren_Piece]

I'm not so sure. Here in TN, Jeff Fisher built the Titans to beat first Pittsburgh, then Jacksonville. This caused us to win the division 2 of the last 5, and go to the playoffs 4 of the last 5. You make your team better than the best team in your division, you make the playoffs. I guess now, Fisher has to re-mold the Titans to beat the Colts.

[MinuteGal]

Hyping Bear-Packer death matches has been the MO for decades because it sells tickets. It's deliberate, written into the script, and don't look for it ever to end. I'm from the Chicago area and I oughta know.

Leni

[Catspaw]

I love this trash-talking rivalry starting months before minicamp. This should get the Pack fired up.

And the name of the Bears QB is???

[ilgipper]

Sounds like Spurrier's promise two years ago to beat the Cowboys. Didn't work so well for him, he beat them one of four chances, and got nowhere near the playoffs. The focus should be on a winning season and a playoff run.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Jeff Fisher built the Titans to beat first Pittsburgh, then Jacksonville

Can you document that? In any case, beating a given opponent seems like a rather narrow and parochial goal. If a Yankee manager said "my #1 goal is to beat the Red Sox," his job would immediately be in jeopardy.

[RonF]

Ditka proved to this generation that your first priority has to be to win your Division. This guarantees you a playoff spot. The Bears have already shown they can beat anyone else in their division except the Packers, and it was two losses to the Packers that guaranteed that they wouldn't win their division. Lovie's focus on beating the Packers is a focus on making the playoffs, it's just not expressed that way.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

You put things into a good perspective. Lovie should have done the same. He came off sounding like Bo Schembechler swearing that Michigan would beat Ohio State.

[bastantebueno55]

I would take the two wins over the Pack! (at least the first year!)

GO BEARS!

[N. Theknow]

One thing Smith, the former St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator

Not exactly a beacon of NFL defensive success. Should be interesting to watch if he is actually head coach material.

Even more interesting to watch is what will happen when he gets fired. Which happens to every coach some time.

[LS]

Please explain to me why this guy was so good? I don't know the stats, but I certainly don't think of the Rams as being a good defensive team, let alone great defensively. What are the stats league-wise? What are the sacks/turnovers?

[Snake65]

What are the stats league-wise? What are the sacks/turnovers?

The only think that matters to the McCaskeys is whether they could get him cheap.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Ditka proved to this generation that your first priority has to be to win your Division.

It's odd to read the constant negativism. I rarely write anything after the article although here I stressed the fact that the organization hired a winner. Secondary, the obvious question is what's preventing the team from achieving that goal?

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Well, bastantebueno, if two wins are "good enough" for you, so be it!

[RonF]

Maybe Lovie's trying to make it sound good for Joe Six-Pack, some of whom really do care about beating Green Bay because they want bragging rights when they drive up north for deer hunting/fishing every year. Or maybe he's just going along with the front office's marketing plan. The guy's a football coach and he's trying to worry about the team. If people tell him, "here's how we market the team", I've got no problem with him going along without a lot of analysis as long as he's concentrating on what's actually important for him to be worrying about.

[RonF]

Read the rest of my post again. Beating Green Bay twice would have put the Bears in the playoffs. Beating them once might have. I'm not negative about his emphasis on beating Green Bay.

[freedumb2003]

Not exactly a beacon of NFL defensive success

The Rams had a better defense than people realize. They led the NFC (the league?) in takeaways (although that just kept pace with Bulger's and Warner's giveaways) and it was Lovie Smith's mid-game corrections throughout the year that got them to and won the Superbowl a few years back. He is very innovative and very canny.

All in all a good aquisition for a team in the slightly more defense-minded NFC North.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I think that's a reasonable analysis.

I would say that I just saw on ESPN a fairly extended excerpt of his press conference, and I was not impressed. Didn't seem particularly bright or articulate, and those shortcomings were not compensated for by any special charisma or leadership abilities, as far as I could see. I'd bet against any big turnraround for the Bears next season.

[hchutch]

Either Kordell Stewart (who I think brings some interesting optiosn to the table) or Rex Grossman (who's going to be pretty darned good).

Things already are looking up for the offense. NO MORE JOHN SHOOP!

[Minn]

I can't believe they've hired Mrs. Howell to coach a football team.

[TheRightGuy]

There'll be cute little blue and orange stuffed animals on sale everywhere — they'll be callin' 'em "Lovie Bears".

[Freebird Forever]

Hyping Bear-Packer death matches has been the MO for decades because it sells tickets.

Green Bay sells out the stadium no matter where they play!

[RonF]

I told my wife last night that I think the expectations are that, barring catastrophic injuries, the Bears should have a winning season next year, even if it's only 9 - 7. There's been a lot of touting of the young Bears and how they stepped up thoughout the year. If the Bears finish below .500 the honeymoon will end abruptly.

[RonF]

Ditka never sounded bright. He was somewhat articulate. He did have the charisma and the leadership, but that shows up more on the practice and game fields than it does in press conferences. At press conferences he sounded like a lunatic sometimes.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I have nothing against Smith or the Bears but I must say I was shocked at how unimpressive Smith seemed at the press conference. I guess we'll just have to see.