Coaching in the NFL, whether it's as the head coach or as an assistant, is a high profile job with little to no job security. Lovie Smith found that out the hard way earlier this year when he was fired after posting an 81-63 record in Chicago. Now, we have an explanation of why he was fired.
"We were in a position where if he stayed, he would be picking his fifth offensive coordinator," Bears general manager Phil Emery told SI's Peter King. "Part of it was because I really believe looking at a team that if you're going to have success, the most important relationship is between the head coach and the quarterback."
Lovie Smith kept the Bears' defense at a high level for the entirety of his tenure in Chicago, but the Bears offense always lacked the ability to make big plays when they needed them most.
"When he was interviewing," Emery said of head coach Marc Trestman, "we sat down for five hours in a hotel room outside of Chicago, one on one, he and I, and we talked about preparation for a game, and there was a spot in there when he said a few things to me, which made me think, 'Wow, this guy's a football coach."
It's understandable that Emery would want to install his own hand-picked guy as the team's head coach, but the explanation of how the Bears went from Smith to Trestman is lacking in sound logic.
A head coach's job is to get the whole team ready week-in and week-out. Yes, head coaches need a strong relationship with their quarterbacks, but if the coach is defensive minded, much of the hands-on interaction is handed down to the offensive coordinator. The Bears were simply never able to find an offensive coordinator to pull their team forward.
In addition, the Bears never had personnel able to support Jay Cutler or the offensive schemes the team tried to use. Without a supporting cast, few quarterbacks can pull the entire team's weight, and Jay Cutler has never been one of those quarterbacks.
