After being shown the door -- in the least surprising dismissal since Kelvin Sampson -- following a historic 0-16 season in Detroit, it didn't take long for Rod Marinelli to become gainfully employed again. Hey, what are friends for? Lovie Smith, his old buddy from their Tampa Bay days (seen here with their head coach, Tony Dungy), has brought Marinelli onto his staff. According to an NFL Network report, the Bears have hired Marinelli as their assistant head coach and defensive line coach.
Look, there are bound to be tons of complaints in Chicago about this move, especially with the much-maligned Bob Babich still ultimately in charge of the defense. The fact of the matter is that some coaches are not good head coaches, and they are better served as assistants. Cam Cameron is a perfect example. Rod Marinelli was a very highly respected defensive line coach for years in Tampa Bay. Bears fans need to get past the failure we just witnessed in Detroit and realize this is a good hire.
On the other hand, there are a lot more problems with this team. Hiring a defensive line coach doesn't solve many of them -- especially since the defensive coordinator is still Babich.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-10-2009 @ 6:18PM
Fornelli said...
The team does have a lot of problems on defense, but all those problems start on the defensive line. Marinelli was a horrible head coach, but he was long considered one of the best D-line coaches in the NFL, and something tells me he hasn't forgotten how to coach the position.
I actually find this to be a good hire. And though I wouldn't mind seeing Babich go, if he defensive line improves, his entire defensive scheme will improve.
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1-10-2009 @ 7:22PM
Max said...
WHEN ARE THE BEARS GOING TO
GET A QUARTERBACK WHO CAN MOVE THE BALL? EITHER GET SAM BRADFORD OR WAIT FOR TIM TEBOW, NOW THERE'S A CHICAGO BEARS QUARTERBACK!!! THEY COULD GET COLT MCCOY TOO, BUT THEY'LL PROBABLY PICK THE KID FROM MISSOURI AND WE'LL START ON THAT TRACK AGAIN. YIKES!
MAX
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1-10-2009 @ 7:43PM
Dan said...
Yes! I was hoping they'd pull him in!
Babich didn't get where he is by being a worthless moron, so I think there's some ability left in him despite recent performance. Putting an accomplished (and high profile) coach on his staff will turn up the heat and hopefully improve the performance of the whole defense.
Max, just because Tebow and Bradford are the two college QBs you saw most recently doesn't mean either is the best fit for the Bears. If the Bears draft a QB and expect him to perform behind a sub-par o line with aging tackles, they will have just drafted the David Carr/Joey Harrington experience.
Develop Chris Williams. Draft a guard.
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1-10-2009 @ 10:24PM
cygnus said...
as a lifelong bears fan I can assure you it does not matter who the bears have under center.untill they realize offense is part of the game even peyton manning can't help this team. they stick to this run the ball on every play concept no matter the score and when they do make a play that moves the ball they absolutley refuse to run that play again.part of the reason the d looks so bad is they are on the field so much of the game because of the ineptitude of the offense and the people behind it.they lost to the texans because they once they got the lead they went to the same don't lose the game mode of running the ball hope the d stops the other team. only thing unlike the bears the texans kept going to the play that worked and the reciever killed them every time.a prime example is the lack of use of olson,all the guy does is gain yds. or score but they throw to him what 2-3 times a game?I am not asking for a run and shoot offense just one that resembles a nfl one.and if they are not going to move up and get stafford or bradford then start the young kid they signed as a free agent and let him develop on the job. for all the abuse grossman got he at least got them to the superbowl. and while everyone blames him for that loss I don't think it was his idea to take out jones on thier next series after scoring a 50yd. td,so benson could fumble and turn the momentum the other way.and don't forget it was his play the first 2 months that year that got them home field in the playoffs where he played pretty good against seattle and new orleans. but like I said nothing will change untill they change the offensive philosophy.
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1-12-2009 @ 1:36AM
skyler86 said...
That seriously made more sense than anything I have heard anyone say. Your right the bears always play good in the first quarter and then they just seem to forget what got them that positive momentum. (i.e. Panthers, Titans, Texans) These are 3 games that we could have easily won had we stuck with what was working....Anyways heres some food for thought for everyone. Remember early in the year against tampa when it went into over time and we had them DEEP into their own terriory and it was 3rd and long. We forced 4th down and then their stupid offensive lineman started punching one of our guys and then Peanut tillman ran over TO BREAK IT UP. Tillman got the flag, automatic first down and then the bucaneers (of course) marche mythotically down the field. Now think about this. Had that penalty been called CORRECTLY. The bucaneers would have had half the distance to the goal and would have been punting out of their own end zone with very little room to work with against a team that is VERY good at blocking kicks. We would have at worst been starting at mid field with only about 15 yards needed to get into field goal range. WE SHOULD HAVE WON THAT GAME. That is the differene between making and not making the play offs.
1-11-2009 @ 8:13PM
brbob1211 said...
The problem then, and the problem now is that the Bears need to begin making changes at the top. Ownership must allow REAL football people to run things from the draft to the player development program. It is clear that Lovey Smith was and is a terrible hire, and the ownership is afraid to admit that they made a mistake. I am not sure if Jerry Angelo is equally part of this, but he at least marginally shares a part of the mediocre team.
Both of them should be fired, and the President should be replaced as well. This city is large enough to invest in high quality coaches & players, and are an embarassment as they are stacked against smaller cities who are regularly competitive in the NFL.
The team has to improve Now, or fans should stop supporting them NOW!
1-14-2009 @ 11:49AM
BabyTank said...
No one will really know if Marinelli was a good head coach or not. The same can be said of Morningsweg, nor Mariucci. Millen was SOO bad as a President and GM, making personnel choices without regard to the head coaches opinions and forcing these coaches to play his picks ... no one could coach under such an idiot. In any case, just as with Morningsweg, Marinelli will again show he's a great coach, and may well find a head job with a more professional executive to support them.
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1-12-2009 @ 1:46AM
skyler86 said...
Lovie Smith was a bad hire? Is that what I just read? Dude in the past 4 seasons only 1 team in the NFC has more wins than the bears 40. And thats the giants with 41. Lovie Smith was the coach durring all of those 4 seasons. He lead his team to the super bowl and lost to a VERY good colts team (which I hate to admit.) Lovie is the best bears coach since Ditka and i would be VERY dissapointed to see him go. I really have to question how much of a fan you are when you say "fans need to stop supporting them." How about instead of complaining about the bears you appreciate the fact that they pulled out a winning season and had it not been for some BAD calls at the beginning of the season we would be 10-6 or 11-5.
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1-14-2009 @ 8:20PM
Nicarelli said...
As a 40 year Bears fan, the REAL problem is ownership. We are still living with the offspring of Papa Bear Halas, and NONE OF THEM has ever had any football knowledge. Most teams these days are corporate owned, using teams as advertising and entertainment. The Halas clan has no REAL money, and are worried about profits instead of football "losses" just being part of the cost of sales for their real products. Let Sprint or Proctor&Gamble or some other big dollar corporation buy the team. Only then might we become a first tier franchise.
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