Lovie Smith will return next season as the Bears' head coach, but it has come at a price. That price was a complete house cleaning of his offensive coaching staff, and giving up his defensive coordinator duties.
Bears Fire Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner, Lovie Smith Will Give Up Defensive Coordinator Responsibilities
Offensive coordinator Ron Turner was the headline name on the chopping block for the Bears, who struggled offensively en route to a 7-9 finish this season. Chicago's running game ranked 29th in the league, while quarterback Jay Cutler had a historically awful year throwing the ball to the other team.
The Chicago Tribune reports the other coaches to get the ax were offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, tight end coach Rob Boras, offensive assistant/assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus, and offensive assistant/assistant wide receivers coach Charles London. The only offensive assistants the team retained were receivers coach Darryl Drake and running back coach Tim Spencer.
While the assistants on the defensive side of the ball appear to have kept their jobs, Lovie Smith will apparently be forced to give up his defensive coordinator duties. Early speculation centered on defensive line and former Lions head coach Rod Marinelli as the top candidate to take over those responsibilities, although Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the team will now go outside of the organization to fill the spot.
As for the offensive coordinator position, there hasn’t been any indication who the team might pursue, although Mike Martz has reportedly expressed interest in coming on in that capacity. Martz and Smith have a close working relationship from their days in St. Louis, where Martz was the head coach and Smith was his defensive coordinator. While Martz is certainly renowned for his ability to construct a passing offense, the fact that his offenses usually rank at the bottom running the ball, and are usually turnover-prone would likely make him a less-than-appealing candidate for the Bears.
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