Lovie Smith out as head coach.

[Bravesfan]

Well, Lovie has officially been relieved of his head coaching duties for the Bears. Look for a more offensive minded coach to replace him.

Let the Lovie firing debate begin!

[Braves4Life]

Da Bears must get either Cowher or Gruden. Cowher would be the perfect coach for Chicago. The only question is whether or not the Bears will pay for a proven winner.

[lake Camelot]

I think Lovie is a good coach and will get another job. I would have had no problem if they kept him. But I also can see why you fire him. If they get a good hire to replace him I will be happy. I hope we hire a offensive coach and start rebuilding. No resigning Urlacher unless it is cheap.

Don't really want any of the other fired coaches.

Gruden, Cowher, or Chip Kelly

Wouldn't mind Chan Gailey or Norv Turner as OC's with Cowher.

[Braves4Life]

I agree LC that Lovie is a good coach. His problem was that he was not a "fit" for what Bears fans wanted in a head coach. He was much too low key, professional, and business-like. Bears fans want a blue collar guy guy Ditka was. That's why Cowher or Gruden would be a perfect fit. Kelly? Not so sure.

[Da Coach]

Da Bears must get either Cowher or Gruden. Cowher would be the perfect coach for Chicago. The only question is whether or not the Bears will pay for a proven winner.

I agree with Cowher- he would be a good choice if he is willing to consider it. But IMO Gruden would be a disaster. He would not get along with Cutler and would try to change everything about him. I doubt he will be considered, and maybe he wouldn't want the job.

[Bravesfan]

I agree LC that Lovie is a good coach. His problem was that he was not a "fit" for what Bears fans wanted in a head coach. He was much too low key, professional, and business-like. Bears fans want a blue collar guy guy Ditka was. That's why Cowher or Gruden would be a perfect fit. Kelly? Not so sure.

I disagree with that. I know some Bears fans want someone who rants and raves on the sidelines all the time, keeping the players on their toes. I think most though want someone who can jump start our offense while keeping the defense solid. In other words, most people want someone who knows how to coach over how much they can scream at people. I can see many wanting a coach that would be a little more reactive when things go bad, unlike Lovie and Jauron who just stood stonefaced all the time. But that doesn't mean they don't know what they are doing.

I seem to remember a coach who was always animated and jumping all over the place all the time that did pretty poorly as Bears coach (and I'm not talking about Ditka). Of course I'm talking about Dave Wannstedt. How did far did all of his jumping around and yacking get his teams? Not very.

[Chico]

He made the comment when they hired him, which all Bear fans loved, that his main objective was to beat the Packers. He failed at that. Maybe that's the reason for the firing.

[SFP]

I agree with Cowher- he would be a good choice if he is willing to consider it. But IMO Gruden would be a disaster. He would not get along with Cutler and would try to change everything about him. I doubt he will be considered, and maybe he wouldn't want the job.

How about get the best coach available and if they need to, trade Cutler? Da Bears are fairly old and I'm betting they will need to re-build anyway. I'd hate to trade away a proven NFL QB but there are a few good arms in the college ranks that I believe will look good on Sunday.

[doug shank's crossover]

Meatballs

Lovie Smith never fit the stereotype of what a Chicago Bear head coach should look like. Meatball fans want a blustery, emotional, tough-guy coach who fits as closely as possible to Mike Ditka who is the standard against which all Bear coaches are compared. That's why Cowher's name is the first to roll off people's tongues. Truth is, the Bear job is going to be a real challenge next year as approximately 1/3 of the roster could turn over due to free agency. You also have the awkward addios in store for Brian Urlacher and no less than 4 key defensive players who are on the wrong side of 30. Oh, and did I mention that Jay Cutler's deal will need to be looked at also. Whoever the coach will be, he's got a real challenge ahead of him.

[Bravesfan]

I agree with Cowher- he would be a good choice if he is willing to consider it. But IMO Gruden would be a disaster. He would not get along with Cutler and would try to change everything about him. I doubt he will be considered, and maybe he wouldn't want the job.

I woudl like Cowher as well. But it seems like some young, up and coming offensive coordinators are getting mentioned as well. The Bears have already been given permission to interview Denver Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy who has done a masterful job this year. No one, and I mean no one thought they would be the top seed in the AFC this year. The only problem is if he is the guy, we would have to wait until potentially after the Super Bowl as Denver will probably be the favorite out of the AFC.

Another possiblility that I like that emerged last night (for me at least) is Redskins OC Kyle Shanahan, son of Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. He did a terrific job with a rookie QB, and an offense that certainly was not as potent as what has been seen on other teams. Al and Chris were just raving about that guy all through the game last night, and it seems like he had Cowboys defense (as depleted as it was) on their heels all through the game. So those are two young "hot" names to watch out for. Hopefully they can keep the defense solid as well.

[Bravesfan]

He made the comment when they hired him, which all Bear fans loved, that his main objective was to beat the Packers. He failed at that. Maybe that's the reason for the firing.

I'm hoping that was more tongue and cheek on his part when he said that. But there is a certain amount of irony in that statement as well. In order to make the playoffs, you probably have to beat them. And in order to advance in the playoffs, you almost definitely have to beat them. Lovie not being able to beat the Packers was more symptomatic of the bigger problem, even though it wasn't all his fault. His teams could not beat any great team the last two years, outside of Indianapolis when they were struggling to find an identity early this year, and once over Minnesota when they were just starting to turn the corner.

So the moral of the story here is if the Bears beat the Packers, they probably would be playoff worthy.

[Bravesfan]

How about get the best coach available and if they need to, trade Cutler? Da Bears are fairly old and I'm betting they will need to re-build anyway. I'd hate to trade away a proven NFL QB but there are a few good arms in the college ranks that I believe will look good on Sunday.

I don't know if he is that proven yet. Maybe a completely overhauled offensive system will allow Cutler to shine, but a Cutler trade would be an interesting idea. Not sure Alex Smith would play in Chicago, so to speak. Most still believe Cutler has more raw talent, but having seen Smith SFP, you probably know more about him than I do.

[Da Coach]

I woudl like Cowher as well. But it seems like some young, up and coming offensive coordinators are getting mentioned as well. The Bears have already been given permission to interview Denver Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy who has done a masterful job this year. No one, and I mean no one thought they would be the top seed in the AFC this year. The only problem is if he is the guy, we would have to wait until potentially after the Super Bowl as Denver will probably be the favorite out of the AFC.

Another possiblility that I like that emerged last night (for me at least) is Redskins OC Kyle Shanahan, son of Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. He did a terrific job with a rookie QB, and an offense that certainly was not as potent as what has been seen on other teams. Al and Chris were just raving about that guy all through the game last night, and it seems like he had Cowboys defense (as depleted as it was) on their heels all through the game. So those are two young "hot" names to watch out for. Hopefully they can keep the defense solid as well.

McCoy and Kyle Shanahan are very good OC's, but are they head coaching material? As a fan, I would prefer someone with head coaching experience and success, then go after an innovative OC and DC for the long term, instead of the Bears' tendency of changing coordinators frequently.
Why not make a run at getting Jim Harbaugh?

[Bravesfan]

Lovie Smith never fit the stereotype of what a Chicago Bear head coach should look like. Meatball fans want a blustery, emotional, tough-guy coach who fits as closely as possible to Mike Ditka who is the standard against which all Bear coaches are compared. That's why Cowher's name is the first to roll off people's tongues. Truth is, the Bear job is going to be a real challenge next year as approximately 1/3 of the roster could turn over due to free agency. You also have the awkward addios in store for Brian Urlacher and no less than 4 key defensive players who are on the wrong side of 30. Oh, and did I mention that Jay Cutler's deal will need to be looked at also. Whoever the coach will be, he's got a real challenge ahead of him.

Good points. Speaking of Urlacher, sources are saying he is so "distraught" over Lovie's firing, he is considering retirement! Something tells me he would be retired even if Lovie came back!

Even better is this little "gem" that just came out, with Cutler saying that change is sometimes a good thing!

Oh boy.... Not a good thing to throw your ex-coach under the bus, especially since only a few minutes earlier on his radio show, he had nothing but complimentary things to say about Lovie:

"I think it's gonna be a sad day at Halas Hall," Cutler said. "[I have a] lot of respect for the guy. He's made friends with a lot of the players. He's a players' coach. I've been very, very lucky in my seven years to have two great coaches who gave a lot of respect to the players and listened to them."

In all fairness, he also did apologize to the fans for the poor effort from the offense this year:

The Bears' offensive woes this year and in seasons past likely played a big role in the decision to fire Smith. Cutler apologized to the fans on Monday.

"Sorry offensively, we couldn't do better for you," Cutler said. "I blame a lot of this on the offense and our inability to perform week in and week out. Defensively, they've been carrying us for a while.

Well, a little too late for that.

[Braves4Life]

Why not make a run at getting Jim Harbaugh?

Anyone know how many years Harbaugh has left on his SF contract? He'd be another great Bears coach.