Lovie Smith
 |
||||||
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | W | L | T | PCT | W | L |
| 2004 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | Totals | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 16 | 17 | 0 | .485 | 0 | 1 |
Born: May 8, 1958 in Gladwater, Texas.
Lovie Smith became the Chicago Bears 13th head coach on January, 15 2004. Smith was the St. Louis Rams Defense Coordinator prior to taking the Bears top coaching post. Known for his aggressive defensive schemes and a cool demeanor, Smith built a strong defense that complimented the Rams explosive offense. The Rams defense led the NFL in 2003 with 46 takeaways while tying for fourth with 24 interceptions and leading the NFL with 22 fumble recoveries.
Smith’s hire was the first head coaching hire of General Manager Jerry Angleo. Angelo had worked with Smith during their Tampa Bay days where Angelo was a head scout. When Angelo was hired by the McCaskeys in 2001, there was a caveat to the hire that Angelo retain the services of Dick Jauron (the current head coach). The handcuffed Angelo was finally given permission to hire a new coach after two brutal seasons of Dick Jauron.
Lovie's rookie season was a bitter disappointment for Bears fans. The team suffered several injuries to key players most notable: Rex Grossman (season ended after week 3), Brian Urlacher (hamstring injury in first hour of training camp would hamper him all season), Mike Brown (season ended after week 2). Various other injuries to the offensive line and a revolving door at QB helped the Bears set a franchise record to 66 sacks yielded.
However, the story of the 2004 season was the play of the offense. Terry Shea was hired as the Offensive Coordinator from Kansas City (QB coach) to install a Coryell type offense and open things up in Chicago. Shea's biggest boast about his offense was that it was adaptable to the talent on the roster. Shea failed to adapt the offense to talent as the Bears finished 32nd in the NFL on offense. In fact, Shea accomplished what no Bear fan was thought possible by running a offense that was worse than his predecessor's: John Shoop. Smith is quoted as saying the offense finished "48th" in the league because statistically the Bears were so far behind the 31st team.
As a result, Smith fired Terry Shea at the conclusion of the season. Speculation surrounding the Shea firing was that he didn't game plan with his assistants and appeared out of touch with personnel during games (calling plays with the wrong personnel on the field). This opinion was supported by reported sideline arguments between Shea and his assistants. The Shea firing also opened the speculation as to who exactly was making the hiring decisions. Was it Smith or GM Jerry Angelo? Angelo is on record as saying the coaching staff is Smith's responsibility. So since Smith dispatched Shea after one season, led some to believe that Shea was hired by Angelo who let Smith take the heat for the firing. More puzzling to the OC coaching change was that Smith wanted to change the philosophy of the offense completely. Smith wanted to run the ball more.
As a result, Smith pursued and hired recently fired Illinois Head Coach Ron Turner. Turner was also Bears OC when Dave Wannstedt was hired. Turner's hiring was important because he was also being pursued by the Balitmore Ravens to replace their fired OC Matt Cavanaugh (also a former Bears OC under Wannstedt).
Coaching Career
Smith’s coaching career started after a successful playing career in High School and College. Upon graduation from Tulsa University, Smith returned to his hometown of Big Sandy, Texas to coach his HS alma mater. From there, he moved back to Tulsa to coach a prep school for two seasons. His college career began at his alma mater of Tulsa where he coached Linebackers. He remained a Linebackers coach at the collegiate and professional levels for 18 years before becoming the St. Louis Rams Defensive Coordinator.
• 2001-2003--St. Louis Rams Defensive Coordinator
• 1996-2000--Tampa Bay Linebackers Coach
• 1995--Ohio State Linebacker’s Coach
• 1993-1994—Tennessee Linebackers Coach
• 1992—Kentucky Linebackers Coach
• 1988-1991—Arizona State Linebackers Coach
• 1987—Wisconsin Linebackers Coach
• 1983-1986—Tulsa Linebackers Coach
• 1981-1982—Casicia Hall Prep HS (Tulsa, OK)
• 1980-Big Sandy (Texas) HS
Playing Career
No Professional playing experience
1976-1979—Tulsa University where Smith played linebacker as a freshman before moving to Strong Safety where he was a two-time All-American and a three-time All-Missouri Conference defensive back.
