Match-up with Da Bears: Lovie Smith

by BigBlueShoe on Jan 29, 2007 11:16 AM EST in Analysis

Super Bowl week is here, and it's about time. To echo bluegirl's diary, this past Sunday was a little depressing. It was the first Sunday in five months with no football. I had the day off and decided to catch up on emails. Since the Colts made the Super Bowl, I average about 100 emails a day. Some from fans, some from readers, some from media outlets asking me to give a "Colts fan's perspective" on the game, and some from SB Nation writers fawning over my greatness.

Ok, the last one is a lie. The SB Nation guys make fun of me all the time, especially Jimmy and Burnt Orange Nation. They don't like the fact that I criticize Vince Young. I do think that both of these guys will go into cardiac arrest if/when Peyton Manning gets his Super Bowl ring.

Anyway, since we are now finally into the week leading up to the Super Bowl, I think it's time to start talking about the game itself. I am a big fan of Lovie Smith. I don't know if VanRam over at Turf Show Times agrees with me, but I think it was a huge mistake for St. Louis to let Smith go. They should have fired Mike Martz and promoted Smith. Lovie Smith was THE reason the Rams made it to the Super Bowl in 2002. That Rams defense that season was amazing. They went from one of the worst defenses the year before to #2 overall in 2001 (the year they went to the Super Bowl). The reason was Lovie Smith. Mike Martz is an incompetent boob who knows nothing about managing a football team. The Rams were crap before Lovie, and they were crap after he left.

Lovie is the man.

Samantha is lonely! All she needs is love! And yes, Mr. Big is the one for you!

Like Dungy, it took Smith a ridiculously long time to get a head coaching gig. While morons like Norv Turner, Dennis Green, Jack Del Rio, and Tom Coughlin are getting stroked by rich, white, fat cat owners to run their perspective clubs, Lovie Smith waited patiently, building up a solid resume in St. Louis and Tampa Bay. Smith's long assent is another sad example of the underlining racism that runs through the NFL. That may be changing somewhat. I am very pleased Mike Tomlin beat out Russ Grimm in Pittsburgh. There was nothing on Grimm's resume that suggested he was a better candidate than Tomlin, and Tomlin's work in Minnesota this past season was sensational. Today, we have six black head coaches in the NFL out of 32 teams. If Al Davis had a brain in that warped skull of his, he'd have hired Hue Jackson (former-Bengals wide receivers coach) as his new head coach Oakland, or Jim Caldwell (QB coach for the Colts). Instead, he takes the young, white, unproven son of Monte Kiffin. Nothing on his resume suggests he is a better candidate than Caldwell, Jackson, or any other African American assistant in the NFL. Nice one, Al.

In any case, Lovie Smith embodies everything the NFL should be about. He has a quiet dignity, and he treats his players like men. Bears fans that dared question him should be ratted out and forced to watch re-runs of Sex and the City, Clockwork Orange-style. I am very happy Smith has found success in Chicago. If Jerry Angelo does not re-sign Smith soon, Angelo should be fired on the spot by management, and his firing should be a public event. Lovie Smith is an outstanding head coach, and Bears fans better appreciate him.

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Stupidest Reason ever to hire a coach: RACE

Are you actually suggesting that owners go out of there way to hire black coaches over white ones?

The owners job is to hire the best person for the job....black or white. PERIOD end of story.

by PAYTON Walter on Jan 29, 2007 11:56 AM EST 0 recs

Agreed

Owners do not hire coaches based on the best person for the job. There is no way you can convince me that Lane Kiffin is a better head coaching option over Jim Caldwell. Lane Kiffin is white. Jim Caldwell is black.

Norv Turner, universally known as a horible head coach, is getting interviewed for the Dallas job. Caldwell isn't getting interviewed, nor is Gene Huey, Ron Meeks, or any other quality Black assistant.

Tom Coughlin got the NY Giants. Coughlin stinks. The Giants could have had Lovie Smith. Jacksonville came very close to hiring Smith, but went with Jack Del Rio, who had NOTHING on his resume. Smith is black. Del Rio is white.

That is my point. No, you should not hire a black coach over a white one SOLELY because of race. However, many black coaches are MORE QUALIFED than many white coaches who are given HC jobs.

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by BigBlueShoe on Jan 29, 2007 12:04 PM EST up 0 recs

Coaches coach...players play

How can you say one guy is more qualified than another...are you an NFL owner, were you present during the interview? Look at Mike Shanahan in Denver he had two crappy HC jobs before Denver...then he won the SB. It's all about the players....if Lovie Smith comes to Chicago and his team sucks....than Lovie is looked at as a failure. Give Dennis Green the Pats and he's a genius not a jackass.

If you like the way a coach coaches or handles himself in an interview or you got a gut feeling about a guy than you hire him.

I would agree that there is some "crony ism" in the NFL... as there is in any industry. But you don't hear white guys complaining that Def Jam records needs to hire white record producers because they are just as qualified as black record producers. If a white producers wants in at Def Jam than he needs to impress the people that do the hiring there.

by PAYTON Walter on Jan 29, 2007 12:29 PM EST up 0 recs

I'd, personally

side with BigBlue on this one.. ...well, in a way.
the league is something like 80% black, right? and it's been predominantly black for a long, long time. Right?
Wouldn't it stand to reason, that, until we're at something approaching 80% of the league's coaches being black, that our numbers are out of whack? Just based on the law of averages, one could expect that the current understaffing of black head coaches would mean there is more talent to be had among black coaches. This is loose logic, I realize. But looking at it, I can't help but feel this way.
And let's not get in the qualified/unqualified argument. Most any candidate can be spun as qualified.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 12:59 PM EST up 0 recs

white NFL players

Well if that's your argument than I have to complain that the NFL doesn't hire more white players! I don't care if the black players are better than the white players...I want my ethnicity represented. GET REAL!

by PAYTON Walter on Jan 29, 2007 1:10 PM EST up 0 recs

It's not about

wanting ethnicity represented. If you want further justification, Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith and Marvin Lewis. 50% of black coaches in the league are personally responsible for taking lousy teams and making them respectable, and then some (Dungy's done it twice). Can the same be said for white coaches.
And getting white players in the league isn't the same as coaches. There's 40 yard dashes, bench presses and other measurables that carry over well to the NFL. For coaches, it's not like they have a stat for coolest sideline attire, most convincing verbal raping of a ref, etc..
You can be pissed about race all you want, but the fact of the matter is, minorities are woefully underrepresented in the NFL. There's no way around it. Plus, you will never convince me that hiring Lane Kiffin's ass is in any way justifiable. You could have had him up against Jared Fogle, Galactucus or a C.H.U.D., it was an asshat move.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 3:31 PM EST up 0 recs

Oh please...

Al Davis has a LONG history of hiring young coaches.

Madden was 33
Flores was 38
Shanahan was 36
Gruden was 35

And since Al Davis hired Art Shell TWICE, I would hardly call it a race based hire.

"Careers are made by what you do in post season play" - Troy Aikman 1.7.07

by Chad on Jan 29, 2007 3:44 PM EST up 0 recs

Tomlin is better than Grimm?

Is that your argument? Your talking out of both sides of your mouth now.....in one sentence you say that it was a crime that Lovie Smith had to wait so long to become a head coach....then in the next you say that you are happy that Tomlin beat out Grimm. You said you saw nothing on his resume that would indicate he would make a good HC. Do you mean his 25 year long resume as an assistant coach in the NFL....how long was Tomlin an assistant for? It seems like your criteria for being a good HC is that you have to be black.

by PAYTON Walter on Jan 29, 2007 1:44 PM EST up 0 recs

Norv Turner

is being interviewed in Dallas because he used to work for the Cowboys organization and is familiar with the system.

The best players are on the field and the NFL is dominated with black athletes. That is the way it should be because they are the better athletes.

In most cases, head coaching is the way it should be. Just because there are only 4 or so black coaches dosen't mean the NFL should go out of its way to make owners hire black coaches. The best coach should get the job and sadly the best option is usually a white coach.

All white head coaches hired recently(Whizenhunt, Petrino, Cam Cameron) have had the necessary experience as head coaches or assistant coaches either in college or the pros. Therefore, they are qualified and each one was a good option. Mike Tomlin was a good choice for Pittsburgh because of his presence. If Russ Grimm got the job, that would have been OK also since he does have 15 more years of experience then Tomlin.

Basically I am saying the best players should play and the best coaches should coach. If there were only 4 white coaches, nobody would complain. So far this offseason all of the white coaches hired have been good choices excluding Monte Kiffin. And Al Davis only hired him because he was young not because he was white.

by Playoff Pride on Jan 29, 2007 2:55 PM EST up 0 recs

Uhm,

did you just put Cam Cameron in the class of good coaching hires with, NORV TURNER!?! I'm sure you're a decent guy and all, but that automatically negates any other points you could have made. Cam Cameron once enlisted Antwan Randle El as a punter.... ..willingly. I don't care what he did last year. You could Gruff the Crimedog LT and Antonio Gates and run a great offense. Mark my words, that guy will blow harder than "Ole Faithful".
And, as I admitted, the rationale behind 4 black coaches vs. so many black players is loose, at best. However, the percentage of black coaches that have been successful is pretty high.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 3:37 PM EST up 0 recs

Agreed

Cam Cameron at IU was horrible. He had Drew Brees and Philip Rivers as his QBs, and he never won a playoff game. He was a horrible pick by the Dolphins, who could have had Ron Rivera. All that guy did was build the Bears defense into one of the NFL's best.

Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by BigBlueShoe on Jan 29, 2007 3:40 PM EST up 0 recs

You threw me for a second there....

"Cam Cameron at IU was horrible. He had Drew Brees"

And I'm thinking uh, should a guy from Indiana know where Drew Brees went to school?" then i reread it.

"Careers are made by what you do in post season play" - Troy Aikman 1.7.07

by Chad on Jan 29, 2007 3:46 PM EST up 0 recs

Yeah ...

Way to flip back and forth, BBS.

by PaytonMenning on Jan 29, 2007 3:53 PM EST up 0 recs

LOL

Sorry for the confusion.

Cameron was IU coach with Randle-El. He was not liked there, from what I remember. As OC for the Chargers, he had Rivers and Brees, along with Gates, Tomlinson, Turner, Neal, and a great o-line.

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by BigBlueShoe on Jan 29, 2007 3:58 PM EST up 0 recs

So

Rivera has Urlacher, Briggs, Tommy Harris, Mike Brown, ect. Now don't get me wrong, Rivera would have been a better choice for the Dolphins and a fine head coach, but a good coach/coordinator helps make players great. Correct me if I am wrong, but San Diego had a 4-12 record and an average offense at best when Cam Cameron arrived. I don't know much about his days at IU, but while he was with the Chargers they had a great offense. I wouldn't say Tom Moore would be a horrible head coach just because he has Manning, Wayne, Harrison, and a good O-Line.

by Playoff Pride on Jan 29, 2007 7:45 PM EST up 0 recs

That's true

Rivera does have a lot of great players. He also lost two of his most critical players and the defense has still performed well enough to get to a superbowl. Take away Antonio Gates and a the leader of their o-line, and that the Chargers would have been done. d.u.n.
I know all there is to know about Cam Cameron and his days at IU, since I was there for all of them. I saw him "about" town frequently and he always impressed one thing about me: the man oozes more "boob-ness" than Nell Carter. He's a class A assclown. Maybe, just maybe he does OK at Miami, but, I'm telling you, if ever a coach was destined to be solely a coordinator, Cam Cameron was that coach (and yes, I'm including the Turner brothers in that group).
The guy is and always will be a joke. Granted, a joke that makes millions and coaches in the NFL.

by cookding on Jan 30, 2007 8:34 AM EST up 0 recs

More important than anything

Cameron was available. Riveria was not. You can interview coaches during the wildcard bye week, but I don't think you can hire them until their team is out.

There's a reason just about every year every team has a head coach by the time the superbowl rolls around. It's the same reason Weiss and Crennell had so much trouble getting jobs. The further your team gets in the postseason, the less likely you are to get a job.

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Jan 30, 2007 11:55 AM EST up 0 recs

Rivera and Miscellania

Cam Cameron still wears his 1987 Oakleys. He looks lamer than Peyton Manning, yet, he fails to mask that by actually performing.
Also, I'm quite surprised about Ron Rivera's ascendency. I'm a Bears fan, so I must admit I'm a fan of Rivera. However, everytime he's mentioned as a 'hot' candidate (cue will ferrell as "mogatu"), there's seldom any mention of Lovie Smith. It shocks me that people say Rivera built the defense when he has little track record with the Tampa Two prior to Chicago.
I don't think he's a great coach cuz I'm a Bears fan and he certainly should be hired before "Cam the Sham", but I'm a little surprised there isn't more scepticism about his impact on the defense.
Of course, I say all this in the hopes that nobody will steal him away.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 4:43 PM EST up 0 recs

Agreed

The NFL hiring policy is racist. By injecting race into it, they make it racist by definition.

Now that said, I had to laugh at the criticism of Al Davis hiring a white guy... Did you forget that Al Davis was one of the first owners to hire a black coach long before owners were forced to interview them?

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Jan 29, 2007 12:58 PM EST up 0 recs

True

But one event does not give Davis a pass. Hiring Kiffin over more qualified black candidates simply reinforces my belief that Al Davis is really a re-animated zombie.

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by BigBlueShoe on Jan 29, 2007 1:50 PM EST up 0 recs

A picture

of Al Davis is all you need to reassert said belief.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 3:38 PM EST up 0 recs

Davis

There were more qualified white candidates than Kiffin too...

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Jan 29, 2007 5:40 PM EST up 0 recs

Lovie Smith AND Jerry Angelo

One of the biggest reasons why the Bears have experienced the turnaround that they have is that we have a HC with a solid plan and GM who gets him the personnel that he needs to execute that plan. I have neither the time or the patience to look into coach Shanahan's past, but a look around the NFL will illustrate my point. The Detroit Lions have an OC in Mike Martz who runs an offense that has proven itself succesful. At this point in time however they lack the personnel to properly execute his offense. They don't have the playmakers at WR and they don't have a QB with the arm needed for that to work.

by mikeFromWCG on Jan 29, 2007 12:42 PM EST 0 recs

Race?

You confuse two things:

Racism and Cronyism.

The NFL has a club of guys called head coaches and once you are in that club, you stay in that club. There was a time when black men were not allowed in that club but that is no longer true and we will see over time more and more black head coaches.

I will site Tony Dungy, Herm Edwards, Art Shell and Dennis Green. All of them were fired and then hired again as a head coach. They are in the club. This is why people like Norv Turner and Tom Coughlin keep getting recycled.

It USED to have to do with race, but not any more.

Oh, here's another thing I would like to know. They make a big deal of the percentage of black players vs. the percentage of black head coaches. I would like to see the percentage of ex-players who would like to be a coach. Maybe (I don't know this just saying maybe), there are less black ex-players looking to be coaches.

Lastly, and this is really going to poke the hornet's nest. But I am a believer that "those who can, do and those who can't teach". And I believe that black men are far superior athletes so they are not as good at coaching. As I believe that its hard for a very good athlete to teach sports. Why? IMO, people who go their whole lives being good at something have a hard time imparting to someone, who is not as good, on how to improve. Just my opinion here boys!

as the character from The Fantastic 4 would say, "FLAME ON!"

"Careers are made by what you do in post season play" - Troy Aikman 1.7.07

by Chad on Jan 29, 2007 1:59 PM EST 0 recs

That sentiment

doesn't bother me outside of the fact that it's based entirely on an addage.
The statistical disparity is what makes the players vs. coaches debate so lively. 25% of players are white, but 80% of coaches are. 55% is pretty massive. That, statistically, outweighs any reasonable % of individuals that decide not to coach, can't coach, etc.
Some would also argue that race is not an issue because of the Rooney Rule governing the inclusion of one minority in every coaching interview process. The number of recent minority hirings makes it clear that the trend is changing. Plus, there have been notable successes amongst minority candidates, which reinforces the idea that maybe teams have been missing the boat. Plus, Art Shell only got hired because Al Davis is senile.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 3:46 PM EST up 0 recs

Don't get me wrong...

For a long time the NFL would NOT hire a black coach. Pure and simple. But now things are different. And I'm saying that it takes time for the infusion. The cream will rise to the top and a good coach will be a good coach no matter what color he is.

"Careers are made by what you do in post season play" - Troy Aikman 1.7.07

by Chad on Jan 29, 2007 3:55 PM EST up 0 recs

Sadly

Sadly I wish I had stated it this succinctly from the beginning
"The cream will rise to the top and a good coach will be a good coach no matter what color he is."
That's really all that needs to be said.

by cookding on Jan 29, 2007 4:37 PM EST up 0 recs