Let's talk about things likely to happen.

Reality based on a 6-10 finish with our sole win coming from a bout with Detroit:

Lovie is fired: 30% chance (looming large over this scenario is the $11 million Lovie would be owed in a buyout and the McCaskey family's proven track record against paying out that kind of money)

Lovie fired and Angelo fired: 3% chance this happens. Angelo has 3 years left and the team just invested in him with the Cutler move. Its highly unlikely they are going to dump him after a single season with Cutler.

A Cowher-like Coach being hired this year: 1% chance. How do I figure? Because I figure there's a 30% chance that Lovie is canned and even if he is, with $11 million invested in his removal, I don't see the Bears investing another $8 million per for a Coach of Cowher's caliber to just coach the team. That means he would have to be the GM and the Coach, etc. Since I only see a 3% chance that happens, I would say that the most likely scenario if that 3% played out would be the Bears finding another Lovie, which is to say a coordinator with a minimal salary expectation we don't have to get into a bidding war for.

So, all of that being said, let's focus on something realistic.

Side note: If we lose to the Lions and beat no other team, you can increase all chances by 20% across the board.

If they both get shown the door, something that LoHo mentioned would have to be the early favorite. I can hear it now: "I would like to introduce a returning member of the Bear family as it's next coach....ladies and gentlemen, Ron Rivera"

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Between the blown fake punt challenge in Green Bay, the challenge yesterday, and the abundance of procedure penalties, Lovie should be canned no later than January 4th.

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Angelo gets to hire one more coach, if it still doesn't work out, he's gone.

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Second City Saint

This team has no personality--just like their coach. Smith needs to go and so does Angelo. Just looking at the O-line and D-lines respectively, I see crap.

Once Smith bascially fired Rivera and then told us all to "trust" him in his condescending way, I've lost some respect.

My money is on Rivera too. At least his Defense is playing pretty well now.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Lovie says that 5 of the losses featured the Bears being "Right in there".
He neglected to state that of their 5 wins the other team was "Right in there" three times, twice winning on missed FG's right?
Who the hell cares how much you lose by? You frickin lost.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I bet they practiced well those weeks too.

If Gilbert, Iglesias and Moore do not see the field next week, Lovie should be removed immediately.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think this is the most likely thing to happen. Lovie will be let go. They are probably conviced that they still did the right thing with the Angelo hire. I guess a few more years of horrible draft picks will make things more obvious.....or not.

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This is my signature...

It would be incredibly stupid to fire Lovie but not fire Angelo.

What if the Bears don't improve next year and then Angelo becomes the fall guy? We now have a situation where the coach we have wasn't hired by the GM.

I think they all have to go and the Bears bring in a GM who then brings in a coach. Start fresh otherwise you are in the same situation next year with Angelo getting fired.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

This would make too much sense for the Bears. I'm just conviced that they think Angelo is not the one to blame. By the time they do figure this out, it will be too late. Whenever they talk to Philips, I never get the impression that he thinks Jerry Angelo sucks. I could be wrong....

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This is my signature...

Lovie's no better or worse than last year, although his inability to get a D coordinator who succeeds (either himself or Babbige is a problem).

Getting Jay off-season, and then doing virtually nothing in terms of O line or receivers is troubling. That's on Jerry.

Our running game was Forte; did anyone there know he was going to have a crap year? I *am* seeing bursts of "goodness" out of him now, but again its in bursts. I can blame the O line for some of this, but Forte is not without fault.

Bottom line, Lovie doesn't impress me as a head coach; he resembles Dick Jauron's "deer in headlight" on gameday. He backed himself into doing D coordinator job, and is blowing there. Turner's the sacrificial, but I'm in favor of cleaning house.

Jerry, for not doing anything offseason to build around Jay... inexcusable. Wishing no harm on anyone, but what if Jay had gotten hurt? Want to see if Hanie's ready, then go ballistic when you find out he's Craig Krenzel/ Moses Moreno /Chad Hutchison/your "bad" QB here?

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

He picked up Schaffer, Pace and Omiyale. He dumped St. Claire. I liked all these moves. Except, each move ended up moving a player into a role in which he had not excelled. Pace required Williams to move to RT, which moved Omiyale to G and pushed Schaffer to the bench.

I still think you can win with Williams at LT, Schaffer at RT and Omiyale as the swing tackle.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Collectively hasn't worked out well. Ah well, let's see how Jay bounces back next year, unless of course he's "ruint"

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

Not to mention they won't spend the money needed to do it in one year. We'll be lucky if they decide to eat Lovie's contract, but I can't see them doing the same with Angelo in the same year.

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Second City Saint

Regular Reader, when he mentioned the name Ron Rivera as a possible replacement for Lovie Smith as the next Bears' head coach, LoHo definitely mentioned during his show last night before the "Monday Night Football" game about getting Rivera not as expensive as what it would cost to bring in Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan or one of the other high-profile coaches on the market. Based on what I've read and heard, while Lovie Smith has 2 years, $11 million left on his contract, it may be a lot more than that if Lovie's assistants aren't retained. Also, if the Bears really want Cowher, Shanahan or anyone else for that matter, it may be too steep a price for the McCaskeys...$10 million (OR MORE) a year...

Most any first-time head coach would be cheaper than a known, proven quantity. If Rivera's smart, he takes a job elsewhere; who needs the extra pressure of being a former player, restoring the proud tradition of the Bears, etc., etc.? Fandom will probably turn on him faster than a neutral team.

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry