You could make an argument for #3 behind Halas and Ditka.

And if the Bears win a Super Bowl with him you have to gasp make an argument over Ditka especially since Ditka had much more talent on his teams.

3 notches below this guy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPpMz5TQ_UU

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

If you look at it closely, Lovie has had an awful lot of talent on his teams, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I think he is a good coach. I don't think he is a great coach.

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

Lovie's teams never seem to be talented on both sides of the ball. I believe this is the year where the offense will be near the top of the league but the defense will be in the bottom half. The great Bears teams usually had both. Don't know enough about the Bears coaches to accurately rank them but he no worse than #2 since I've been alive and you could make the argument he's ahead of the underachieving Ditka.

With the exception of maybe his first year as HC, Lovie has always had a good amount of talent on defense.

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please try to make that argument

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

Best reciever of Lovie's Tenure: Wahsed up Musin Muhammed
Best LT: Converted RT John Tait
QB's who were depended on: Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese

I know. That's why I said nothing about the offense. Lovie has had a lot of talent over the years on his defense.

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Correct. I was saying both sides of the ball in the same season. The closest was 2006 and the Bears destroyed everyone until the league adjusted to Grossman. The defense has been great for a decade. It is my opinion that the offense and defense will now switch roles.

Lovie has never had an underachieving season. Even though Ditka's teams were by far superior to Lovie's teams he has the same amount of SB trips and 1 more NFC title game appearance. I know Ditka has a ring but he should have won more. He had some of the greatest teams in the history of the game. I believe you could have led the Bears to a SB victory in 1985.

Lovie has had bad offenses because he didn't care. Ditka wasn't just blessed with talent. The offense was good because Ditka focused on the run and went about restructuring the offensive line into the best run-blocking line of the decade.

Lovie has no offensive philosophy. That's why he'll never be a great coach.

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You know me like that.

I agree. His offensive philosophy comes from the Rams but they've never had the talent or field to run that type of offense. He's a defensive coach. Ditka was an offensive coach.

Well, the rest of my day just opened up.

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You know me like that.

Lovie cost the Bears a Superbowl..sticking with Wrecks way too long..and the division was rebuilding and Lovie got fat off bad teams..the Pack and Lions are rebuilt..I am no fan of Smith..he is an average coach.

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Even with the talent, you cant run that shit in today's NFL.

Gotta keep reinventing. That system is 15 years old

And the best Wideout was Lloyd they did not recognize it and released him.

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Somewhere below Jack Warden.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

You probably could for a season or 2 if you had 2 HOF'ers on the Oline, and 2 of the top WRs in football. Lovie did not.

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Was the talent great when Ditka took over the team? He did a fantastic job of resurrecting the franchise.

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

I'm sorry

Agreed. They now have the talent but I don't see an offensive guru on the coaching staff.

Many of the key pieces were already in place. Having those pieces made his job a little easier. Also having a defensive guru doesn't usually hurt either. Makes it easier for you to focus on 1 thing.

A HoF RB and a future HoF QB doesn't hurt either.

Here's what Ditka took over. 3 players on offense and 4 players on defense that had an impact on the Super Bowl season.


Offensive Starters
QB Vince Evans
RB Walter Payton
FB Matt Suhey
WR Brian Baschnagel
WR Rickey Watts
TE Robin Earl
LT Ted Albrecht
LG Noah Jackson
C Dan Neal
RG Emanuel Zanders
RT Keith Van Horne

Defensive Starters
LDE Dan Hampton
LDT Jim Osborne
RDT Alan Page
RDE Al Harris
LLB Otis Wilson
MLB Mike Singletary
RLB Gary Campbell
LCB Terry Schmidt
RCB Reuben Henderson
SS Gary Fencik*+
FS Doug Plank

Special Teams Starters
K John Roveto
P Bob Parsons
PR Jeff Fisher
KR Dave Williams

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You know me like that.

I still contend that Jim Finks & Buddy Ryan were far, far more integral to the Bears' success than anything Ditka did. By the time Finks left in '83-84 all of the pieces were in place.

Ditka had nothing to do with the defense. Not even from a motivational point of view.

Ditka's ideas on offense were 1) Let Walter run. 2) Force the run. 3) Gimmick pass and/or 4) 3rd down draw to Pinky. Much of the time McMahon seemed to call his own pass plays. Ditka was supremely comfortable with the notion of letting the (Finks) line block for Payton.... & especially for the Fridge.

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

So you agree that many of the key pieces were already in place?

If you don't consider 80% of the offensive line, all the wide receivers, cornerbacks and tackles, and the quarterback key; then yes, many of the key players were there.

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You know me like that.

The entire team can't be part of the core. Walter was great behind awful lines. It wasn't hard to imagine how much better he would be if you put some talent around him. IMO the greatest of the defense made it a little easier on the offense more than the greatest of the offense made it easier on the defense.

The offensive line was part of the core. So was McMahon.

1985 key guys that were there - Hampton, Singletary, Wilson and you could make an argument for Payton and Van Horne.

I'd probably give you Payton.

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You know me like that.

Hall of Fame QB, two Hall of fame WR, a hall of fame LT, and a hall of fame RB and they STILL wouldnt be able to run that shit in the NFL, today imo.

Once stuff is caught up to....that's it.

That's why the Defense the Bears run looks so different than what Tampa did in 2002. They're just being stubborn calling it the Cover-2 or Bear-2 if you're nasty